Bulls thinking big after win over 76ers
The Bulls have been rolling at home for the past two months, but their offensive efficiency reached new levels Thursday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
During a 15-minute stretch of the second half, the Bulls knocked down an amazing 16 of 22 shots and scored 49 points. A full game at that pace would have netted 157 points.
"Say that again?" Ben Gordon asked when informed of those statistics. "That was crazy. We had an offensive burst, to say the least, and that kind of put the game out of reach."
The Bulls dropped their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to 1 with the 113-99 victory over Philadelphia, which has lost three in a row. The Bulls improved to 13-1 at the United Center since the all-star break and also are 10-3 since March 14. They will clinch a playoff spot if Charlotte loses Friday night at Oklahoma City.
Gordon's team-high 24 points were matched by forward Tyrus Thomas, who went 14-for-14 at the foul line. After another impressive home performance, Thomas gave warning to the other playoff teams in the East.
"I think we're the most dangerous team that's going to be in the postseason in the Eastern Conference right now," Thomas said. "I wouldn't say anybody's counting us out, but we're the underdog right now. I think we're going to come out and shock a lot of people."
Bold words for a team that still is a game below .500 at 39-40. But Gordon didn't hesitate to second Thomas' assessment.
"Yeah, I agree with him," Gordon said. "Why not? I'm on the same page with Tyrus. It seems like we're getting better each game. We just hope every game could be a home game, but that's not the case."
The massive run began with eight minutes left in the third quarter and the Sixers leading 59-56.
It ended with the Bulls in complete command at 105-85 with 5:12 remaining in the game. One of the 6 misses was a half-court shot by Derrick Rose (16 points, 8 assists) at the third-quarter buzzer.
"I'd love to say that we did all this special stuff," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I think guys at the beginning were thinking and their feet were a little slow. It's a reaction game. You have to have instincts. You have to react. You can't be thinking out there."
The victory moved the Bulls within 11/2 games of Philadelphia (40-38) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The season series ended in a 2-2 tie, and the Sixers would win the next tiebreaker based on conference record.
So Philadelphia would have to lose at least three of its last four games for the Bulls to have any chance of moving up. But the Sixers do have a tough closing schedule with Cleveland twice, Boston at home and Toronto on the road.
If anyone wants to dream real big and think about fifth place, Miami would have to lose all four of its remaining games - against Boston, New York, Atlanta and Detroit - while the Bulls win out.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Mayor-elect profiles</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=285614">Deng out for regular season <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>