Bulls fade badly in fourth, lose to Warriors 114-97

Posted January 18, 2010 10:00 pm

Mike McGraw

Golden State was supposed to be the short-handed team that would fade away as the game progressed. Instead, it was the Bulls who seemed gassed during a miserable fourth quarter.

Based on record, this should have been the Bulls' easiest game of the ice-show road trip, but the Warriors pulled away for a convincing 114-97 victory in Oakland, Calif.

Golden State (12-27) snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Bulls' four-game winning streak ended with a thud. The next stop is Los Angeles, where the Bulls will face the Clippers on Wednesday.

"Our intensity was not at the level defensively that it needs to be at," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We're not going to win just outscoring people.

"Especially Golden State, who can really put the ball in the basket. Those three guys are tough to cover off the dribble - we know that - but we should have done a better job with them."

The Bulls (18-21) were without guard Kirk Hinrich because of an illness. That shouldn't have been a big issue, considering how the Warriors had eight players in uniform; only four were regulars and two are on 10-day contracts.

"Well, the Golden State D-leaguers got a win," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "Here we are with 71/2 players, but we found a way to get a win."

Three players scored 82 percent of Golden State's points. Guard Monta Ellis hit just 14 of 39 shots, but they added up to 36 points. Forward Corey Maggette, on the other hand, couldn't miss, knocking down 11 of 14 attempts for 32 points.

According to ESPN, Ellis is the first NBA player to attempt at least 39 shots and score less than 40 points since Michael Jordan went 12 of 39 for 29 points against the Spurs on Nov. 3, 1997.

"Not many Warriors other than Wilt (Chamberlain) probably have shot 39 times in an NBA game," Nelson said.

Rookie guard Stephen Curry had a nice game, burying 5 baskets from 3-point range and scoring 26 points.

But center Andris Biedrins might have been the most valuable player. The only big man in uniform for the Warriors owned the inside with 8 blocked shots and 19 rebounds.

Among the Warriors sidelined by injuries were point guard C.J. Watson, 3-point specialist Anthony Morrow, power forward Rony Turiaf, 7-foot Vladimir Radmanovic and third-year forward Anthony Randolph. A couple of others, Raja Bell and Brandan Wright, have been out for a while.

With Hinrich out, John Salmons returned to the starting lineup and scored a team-high 25 points. But the bench players hit just 7 of 27 shots. Brad Miller had 1 point and 4 rebounds, while Tyrus Thomas fouled out in 20 minutes.

Overall, the Bulls shot a disappointing 36.5 percent from the field. Luol Deng scored 20 points and Derrick Rose added 19.

"We came out sluggish and didn't recover," Rose said. "It takes a lot of energy guarding those guys."

The Bulls' last lead was 79-76 with 2:08 left in the third quarter. Golden State responded with a 6-0 run and kept right on running.

The visitors were within 83-81 when Jannero Pargo opened the fourth quarter by hitting a jumper. They had chance to get closer but managed 1 free throw on the next five possessions.

That's when Golden State kicked its offense into high gear. The Warriors knocked down 9 of their next 11 shots, including 3 from 3-point range, and built a 106-90 advantage when Curry drained a 3 with 3:50 remaining.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

Warriors 114, Bulls 97

Selective defense: Only five of 39 opponents have failed to score 100 points against the Warriors this season. The Bulls have done it twice. They managed to pull out an overtime win in Chicago, but shot just 36.5 percent from the field in Monday's loss.

Volume shooter: Guard Monta Ellis poured in 36 points for Golden State, while Chicago native Corey Maggette scored 32. The fact that Elis attempted 25 more shots than Maggette is irrelevant since the Warriors rolled to victory.

Kirk calls in sick: With Kirk Hinrich out with an illness, John Salmons returned to the starting lineup and had a nice game, scoring 25 points. The Bulls' bench, on the other hand, hit just 7 of 27 shots and Tyrus Thomas fouled out in 20 minutes.

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