Hughes at the buzzer ... GOOD!
SALT LAKE CITY - Derrick Rose has fond memories of watching Michael Jordan's final shot fall for the Bulls in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
He watched the replay, anyway. Older brother Dwayne turned off the family television when it happened live. Either way, Monday marked Rose's first visit to the home of the Utah Jazz, where Jordan's heroics took place.
"It was crazy walking on the court, shooting around," Rose said before the game. "This is my first time seeing the arena. On TV it looked different, but in person it's a nice arena. It should be a fun game."
Talk about amazing symmetry. As the clock ticked away in a nail-biter, the Bulls trailed by 1, didn't take a timeout and had the ball in Rose's hands for the final shot.
The rookie guard launched a jumper not five feet from the exact spot of Jordan's famous shot - but that's where the similarities ended.
Rose's shot bounced off the front of the rim with about five seconds on the clock, right to teammate Larry Hughes on the wing. Hughes had the poise to shot-fake Utah defender C.J. Miles into the air and bury a 20-footer at the buzzer to give the Bulls an amazing 101-100 victory, their second of the seven-game circus road trip.
"It's everything that you dream for, playing against a good team in a special arena, especially for the Chicago Bulls; the matchup of the Jazz and the Bulls," Rose said. "I won't forget this victory. It was great."
The ending featured 10 lead changes in the final 3:04. The Bulls scored on seven of their last eight possessions; Utah converted eight of its last nine.
The clocks above each basket were broken for the entire game. So when Hughes grabbed the offensive rebound, he instinctively looked up to see the time, but it wasn't there. There was a clock sitting on the ground in the nearest corner of the court.
"When that stuff happens, it kind of goes in slow motion," Hughes said. "I saw the whole play. I saw the rebound. Once I got it, I saw him (Miles) closing out, so I knew I could get a fake in and get to the side and get off a good look. That's all I was trying to do.
"I've never had a walk-off, no time on the clock. I've hit some game-winners, but never with no time left on the clock."
Utah's last lead came on a Miles layup with 11.8 seconds on the clock. Before the last bucket, Rose (25 points, 9 assists) had scored the Bulls' previous 8 points.
Utah (9-6) had won 33 of their previous 34 home games, dating back to last season. But the Jazz was woefully short-handed on Monday, missing point guard Deron Williams (left ankle sprain), power forward Carlos Boozer (quad strain), Matt Harpring (back strain) and Kyle Korver (inflamed right wrist).
Then again, since Williams, the former Illinois star, has only played in two games this season, the Jazz still had five of its top six scorers available.
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