It was a nail-biter, but Bulls hang on for 108-106 win

Was Derrick Rose living a dream during the fourth quarter of Game 3 against Cleveland, or did he survive a nightmare?

After watching Cavaliers star LeBron James knock down a flurry of clutch shots to seal a win on Monday, Rose said it made him wish he could be in James' shoes someday.

Rose was in virtually the same spot Thursday at the United Center. He was trying to score enough baskets to hold off a furious Cleveland rally, then looked up and saw that James had suddenly started guarding him.

"For the best player in the NBA to be sticking to me, it feels good," Rose said. "Why not take your shot at him? It surprised me a little bit, but it was fun out there."

Rose ended up scoring 11 of his 31 points in the final 7:25 of the fourth quarter and the Bulls managed to hang on for a 108-106 victory, cutting Cleveland's series lead to 2-1 and with a chance to even things up on Sunday afternoon.

"We felt when the series started that we can play with them," Bulls center Joakim Noah said. "We handled our business tonight and we'll be ready to go again on Sunday."

James claimed he gave himself the defensive assignment to guard Rose. At the time, the Cavaliers had chipped away at a 21-point deficit and got as close as 94-92 with 4:17 remaining.

In the interview room, Rose talked about what went through his mind as he tried to attack James and keep the Bulls from losing the big lead.

"Just get him off-balance," Rose said. "Usually my speed really gets people off-balance. He's kind of big, but he's got the same quickness as I've got, so it was kind of hard. I was just trying to keep pressure on him so he'd get exhausted on the other end."

Rose and his teammates didn't flinch when the lead got down to 2 points. First, Luol Deng hit a pull-up in the lane, then Noah deflected a James pass, which led to a runner by Rose. After a traveling call negated a Cavs basket, Rose made a quick move and dropped in an 18-foot jumper over James and the Bulls had some breathing room at 100-92 with 2:47 left.

"Those floaters, they're huge," Noah said. "They better try to find a way to get the ball out of his hands, because he's doing his thing."

The Bulls appeared to be in a comfortable spot, leading 104-96 with 38 seconds left. But Mo Williams knocked down a 3-pointer, Kirk Hinrich (27 points) missed a pair of free throws, then James threw in a 3-pointer to bring Cleveland within 104-102 with 11 seconds on the clock.

Rose then missed the first of 2 free throws with 10.1 seconds left, giving the Cavaliers a chance to tie with a 3-pointer.

The Bulls chose to foul Anderson Varejao intentionally after the inbound pass and the Cavs power forward made just 1 of 2 at the line. That allowed Brad Miller to stretch the lead to 107-103 at the foul line with 6.2 seconds left. But Williams knocked down another long 3 to make it a 1-point game.

Deng (20 points) split a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds on the clock. Naperville native Anthony Parker grabbed the rebound for the Cavs and took it himself, but missed a running 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It capped a wild night at the United Center where the red-clad fans were into the game from the get-go. They booed James, probably in retaliation for Noah getting booed in Cleveland, and even started a futile "MVP, MVP" chant when Rose went to the foul line.

"Do not listen to them," Rose said with a laugh of the chants. "Hopefully one day, but not this year. I'm just focused on winning games right now."

As are his teammates.

"I think it's great for our confidence as a young team to beat a team like this," Noah said. "The team that had the best record in the NBA, the team that everybody is saying is going to win the championship."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>

<p class="breakhead">Three star performers</p>

<p class="News"><b>1. Derrick Rose</b> talked after Game 2 about how he wanted to be in LeBron James' shoes someday. That day came quickly as Rose scored 11 of his 31 points in the final 7:25 as the Bulls held on to win.</p>

<p class="News"><b>2. LeBron James.</b> At times Thursday, the Cavs looked like they did in seasons past, with James holding the ball for 15 seconds and dropping in long jumpers as teammates watched. He had 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists.</p>

<p class="News"><b>3. Kirk Hinrich</b>, nice to have you back. After totaling 13 points in Games 1 and 2, the veteran shooting guard scored 27 in Game 3, hitting 9 of 12 shots overall and all 4 of his 3-point attempts.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Playing from ahead:</b> The Bulls used the home crowd enegry to build a 21-point lead with 7:52 left in the third quarter. The Cavs battled back to 94-92 with 4:17 remaining before the Bulls stretched the lead to 8 and hit just enough free throws to hang on.</p>

<p class="News">O<b>dds and ends:</b> Cleveland took almost half its shots from 3-point range, going 14 for 35 from behind the arc and 36 for 82 overall. Joakim Noah picked up his fifth foul with 8:56 remaining and the Bulls struggled on the glass when he was out. The Cavs put James on Rose late in the fourth quarter.</p>

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<h2>Stories</h2>

<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=375498">Rozner: Bulls must have missed 'roll-over-and-die' memo <span class="date">[4/22/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=375487">James may end up guarding Rose more often <span class="date">[4/22/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=375476">Low-key Hinrich kicks it into high gear <span class="date">[4/22/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=375453">Hawks' Smith takes page out of Noah's book <span class="date">[4/22/10]</span></a></li>

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<h2>Photo Galleries</h2>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=375470">Images of Bulls vs. Cavaliers, Game 3 </a></li>

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