Rose looks more like old self in Bulls win
There were plenty of lowlights Saturday at the United Center, as the Bulls struggled to put away a Philadelphia team that started three rookies and just one guy who was a first-round pick in the NBA draft.
But the clear highlight was Derrick Rose's passing. In his third game back from arthroscopic knee surgery, Rose extended his minutes and his vision, putting up 8 assists and no turnovers in a 114-107 victory.
It wasn't as if Rose was playing it safe. He found Pau Gasol downcourt on two long passes. Perhaps his best moment came late in the game, when the 76ers sent a quick double-team at Rose. He spun away from the trap, saw that his closest teammate, Tony Snell, was guarded, and while jumping near midcourt, fired an accurate pass to Taj Gibson under the basket for an open layup.
After the game, Rose suggested it was all a byproduct of being a spectator while recovering from three knee surgeries since 2012.
“When you miss three years down there, you see everything,” Rose said. “I'm just being patient a little bit more. There's no point in me forcing anything.”
Rose also scored 22 points, while stretching his minutes to 28. A couple of his fourth quarter drives rekindled memories of his glory days, but the Sixers also had 34-year-old guard Jason Richardson trying to help off a screen and he provided little resistance. Rose knows the task will get tougher soon.
“I'm getting there. It's still going to take time,” Rose said. “I'm just happy that I've got the teammates that I have. When a guy misses so many games and comes back and trying to find my way through — they're staying with me, they're sticking with me. So I'm grateful, excited and just filled with joy that I'm back playing.”
Toronto won at Miami on Saturday, so the Bulls stayed in the No. 4 slot in East. The Bulls and Raptors have the same record, but Toronto holds the tiebreaker by virtue of being a division champ.
Both teams have two games left in the regular season. The Bulls (48-32) visit Brooklyn on Monday, then finish with Atlanta at home. The Raptors play at Boston and finish with Charlotte at home.
The playoff scenario is pretty much set — if the Bulls finish ahead of Toronto, they'll play Milwaukee in the first round. If not, it's a rematch with Washington.
While the Bulls continue to struggle against weak teams, the sight of Rose playing well down the stretch in a close game gives them some hope for the postseason.
“It definitely gives us positive energy,” Joakim Noah said. “This team needs it. Just to see him out there playing like that, moving like that, it feels great. We've gone through so much dealing with injuries. To see him come back and after three games play at that level, it's big. We've just got to keep it up and keep building.”
Gasol collected his 52nd double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds. At 34, he'll become the oldest player to lead the NBA in double-doubles since Patrick Ewing in 1996-97, who was also 34.
Another standout for the Bulls was Tony Snell, who gave them some breathing room by knocking down 3 straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Kirk Hinrich left the game after five minutes, still feeling the effects of a hyperextended left knee suffered on April 1.
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