Road raves: Bulls make it three in a row
Derrick Rose missed the morning shootaround because he was feeling ill and Joakim Noah clearly wasn't himself trying to play through plantar fasciitis in his foot.
So it almost seemed understandable when the Bulls fell behind 15-4 at the start of Monday night's game at San Antonio.
Then again, the Bulls proved during the past four days that fortunes can turn quickly. Rose found the stamina to lead the Bulls to their third straight surprising victory on the road, scoring 27 points in a 98-93 win over the Spurs at the AT&T Center.
"We've been winning as a team and then trying to let Derrick make his plays down the stretch," coach Vinny Del Negro told reporters after the game. "I'm happy for the guys. We're not as healthy as we'd like to be, but we're finding a way and guys are stepping up."
Trailing 15-4, the Bulls (21-22) unleashed a hot-shooting stretch that may be unmatched in franchise history, especially since it happened on the Spurs' home court.
Over the next 11 minutes, the Bulls knocked down 16 of 18 shots and outscored San Antonio 36-18. Kirk Hinrich scored 11 of his 18 points during the streak and didn't miss a shot beyond a half-court heave at the first-quarter buzzer.
Of course, hot shooting doesn't last forever and this game went down to the wire. San Antonio finished the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 71-70 lead heading into the fourth.
Not long after, Rose and Brad Miller knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, then Taj Gibson's tip-in sent the Bulls ahead 85-79 with 7:17 left. The Spurs came back with 8 straight points to take a brief lead. Luol Deng hit a lay-in off a pass from Rose to make it 87-87 with 3:26 left, and the teams traded baskets for the next three minutes.
With the score tied, Rose drove to the basket and missed a bank shot, but Noah trailed the play and tipped it in to give the Bulls a 95-93 edge with 36.7 seconds left.
"I thought Derrick got hit there," Del Negro said. "He had a little blood in his eye. But at the end of the game, it's going to be physical. You're going to have to be aggressive getting to the rim and Jo came in with a great tip-in."
On the other end, Deng blocked a driving attempt by Manu Ginobili. The Spurs could have gotten the ball back with a defensive stop but chose to foul Noah intentionally. The Bulls center hit the second of 2 free throws to make it 96-93 with 13.1 seconds on the clock.
Ginobili drove to the basket again and tried to throw his head backward into Rose and draw a foul. Ginobili didn't get the foul or make the shot. Noah grabbed the rebound and buried 2 free throws with 5.2 seconds left to seal the outcome.
The Bulls shot better than 50 percent from the field for the third straight game, hitting 42 of 78 attempts (53.8 percent). Tony Parker led the Spurs (25-18) with 20 points.
With 1:18 left, while referees checked the replay of an out-of-bounds call, the Bulls tried to huddle up in a spot where Tim Duncan already was standing. A couple of Bulls nudged Duncan out of the way before a referee stepped in and led Duncan away.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Bulls 98, Spurs 93</p>
<p class="News"><b>Make it three:</b> Yes, it's true. The Bulls won their third straight road game against a Western Conference playoff contender, knocking off San Antonio. Is it too soon to call Vinny Del Negro a candidate for coach of the year?</p>
<p class="News"><b>Ill no more:</b> Derrick Rose skipped the morning shootaround because he was feeling sick. Because of that, he was limited to 35 minutes but hit 13 of 23 shots for 27 points, 6 assists and no turnovers. Center Joakim Noah, after missing Saturday's game with a sore foot, scored the last 5 points of the game.</p>
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