Rose saves game with last-second bank shot
After sitting out three years of the NBA playoffs, Derrick Rose is officially better than ever.
During the playoff runs of 2008-10, Rose had some chances to pull off game-winning shots, but didn't knock one down. On Friday at the United Center, he delivered.
Rose's 3-point bank shot at the buzzer gave the Bulls an intense 99-96 victory over Cleveland in Game 3. The Bulls lead the second-round playoff series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
"Those opportunities are always going to be there," Rose said of the game-winner. "I felt like the last game in Milwaukee when I turned the ball over and they scored on an out-of-bounds play, I learned from that.
"I don't mean to sound cocky, but those are shots that you want to take as a player that's in my position. I'm just thankful and grateful that my teammates gave me the ball and they believe in me."
Rose finished with 30 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. LeBron James had 27 points, 14 assists and 8 rebounds. Neither team's star shot the ball well and both teams finished below 40 percent from the field.
When Rose's shot went in, he skipped casually toward the Bulls bench, was wrapped in a bear hug by teammate Joakim Noah and as Noah lifted him off the ground, Rose still hadn't smiled. He kept wearing his expressionless game face.
"It was very well-deserved," Noah said. "Derrick's gone through so much over the last couple years, so much adversity and so much pain not being able to play basketball games. But he's somebody who has a lot of confidence in himself, more than anybody I've been around.
"I know he's special. I just feel great right now that he hit a huge shot for us. But we're not satisfied. We just need to stay hungry, stay humble and be ready for a huge Game 4."
The Bulls took a 94-93 lead with 33.6 seconds left when Jimmy Butler drove under the basket against J.R. Smith, stopped, turned and dropped in a layup.
James missed a driving attempt on the other end and Taj Gibson hit 2 free throws to make it 96-93 with 23.5 seconds on the clock. But Smith curled around a screen and dropped in a tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.
Rose dribbled up the court and had the ball ripped away by James, who clearly fouled Rose on the play. But the call was Bulls ball out of bounds with three seconds left. After a timeout, Rose caught the inbound pass, curled across the top of the key, got a screen from Gibson and tossed in his long bank shot over Tristan Thompson.
"Derrick took a tough shot, tip your hat to him," James said. "The game was not won or lost on that play. We had plenty of other opportunities, as they did. They just made one more play than us. We played as hard as we could tonight to get a win. That's all you can ask."
Jimmy Butler had a rough start to Friday's game, missing 9 of 10 shots in the first half. During the second half, he hit 6 of 8 shots to score 17 of his 20 points and, of course, he guarded James just about every second he was on the floor.
During the fourth quarter, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau did something he rarely does - put just one big man on the floor.
Pau Gasol (6 points, 4 rebounds) played the first five minutes of the third quarter and didn't return. The Bulls later ruled him out with a left hamstring strain. He said after the game he'll get an MRI on Saturday and he's unsure of his status for Game 4.
Gibson was playing well, so Thibodeau left him on the floor for the entire fourth quarter. Noah grabbed 11 rebounds, but isn't much of a scoring threat.
So this was a night when rookie Nikola Mirotic (12 points) played more than he had previously in the series, but when he picked up his fifth foul at the 7:33 mark of the fourth, Thibodeau subbed in Mike Dunleavy. The Bulls essentially finished the game with Rose, Butler, Dunleavy, Gibson and Kirk Hinrich on the floor.
"I liked it," Rose said of the small lineup. "Taj played great, man. Huge rebounds. His spirit was there tonight and I think everybody fed off it a little bit.
"There was more space on the floor, I felt like you couldn't help off anyone (or) I would find them."
The Bulls might have been too hyped at the start of the game. They missed several point blank shots or putbacks. They were being aggressive, attacking the basket and drawing contact.
But in the first half, there weren't many fouls called in the paint. The Bulls usually ended up with someone on the floor after one of those drives and that player was slow getting back on defense. Cleveland recorded it's biggest lead of the night at 24-16 late in the first quarter.
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3 keys to the game
1. Bank on Rose: Derrick Rose had chances to win playoff games before his knee injuries and didn’t deliver. He came through Friday with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Bulls to a dramatic victory.
2. Big on boards: The team that wins the rebound battle usually comes out on top in this series. The Bulls held a 54-39 edge on the glass in Game 3.
3. Butler improves: After a rough first half, Jimmy Butler hit 6 of 8 shots for 17 points in the second half and helped force LeBron James into an 8-for-25 shooting night.
— Mike McGraw