Bulls now have target on their backs
The Bulls' resurgence reached new levels late Saturday night against Golden State. Not in a good way, though.
There was elation in Oakland after the Warriors knocked off the high and mighty power from the East 101-90.
“Definitely our biggest win,” Golden State forward Dorell Wright gushed after the game. “With the way they're playing right now, and the level Derrick Rose is on, definitely.”
This is most definitely new territory for the Bulls, serving as an opponent's most significant conquest of the season. On Nov. 11 at the United Center, the Bulls beat the Warriors by 30.
“We owed those guys a lot,” Warriors center Andris Biedrins said.
The Bulls (34-15) seemed to have things under control after opening the third quarter with an 18-5 run. But in a span of 13 minutes, Golden State managed to turn a 12-point deficit into a 15-point lead and the Bulls' six-game winning streak was over.
Harder to figure was how the Warriors, who rank 28th in points allowed, did such a good job of keeping Derrick Rose under control. Golden State consistently sent two defenders at Rose, making him give up the ball early.
This was a regular occurrence early in the season and the Bulls seemed to understand how to respond. Rose would collect double-figure assists and the Bulls found plenty of scoring inside and beyond the 3-point line.
Against the Warriors, the Bulls hit some 3-pointers early and Carlos Boozer collected 21 points, but they went ice cold early in the fourth quarter, collecting some of their 16 turnovers during a six-minute scoring drought. Golden State went on a 14-0 run to put the game away.
Rose piled up a career-high 9 turnovers to go with 14 points and 10 assists.
“The way that they doubled was kind of weird,” Rose said, according to espn.com. “Where they had three people on one side, making sure that when I come off the pick two people were on me. If I made the little slip pass somebody was sticking Carlos and it was just tough. … It was just something we've never seen before, I guess.”
Rose figured coach Tom Thibodeau will be on top of it at the next shootaround, Monday morning in Portland.
“I thought our turnovers came from over-dribbling, dribbling into a crowd,” Thibodeau said after the contest. “They were collapsing on dribble penetration. When we made the simple plays and just hit the open man, that's how we scored effectively.”
The Bulls are used to tasting defeat in Oakland during the post-championship era. But this is still an idea that takes some getting used to — the Warriors devising a dominant defensive scheme.
“We couldn't let (Rose) get his game going, because he sets the tone for that team,” Golden State coach Keith Smart said. “You can't stop Derrick Rose 1-on-1, but our entire team did an excellent job against him. … It was a perfect defensive game in the fourth quarter.”
Rose wasn't the only Bulls player with an off night. Former Warriors guard C.J. Watson went scoreless (0-for-5 from the field) in his return to the Bay Area and struggled defensively against guard Monta Ellis (33 points).
With the Bulls having a big year, every loss matters. In the Eastern Conference standings, games behind isn't as meaningful as the loss column. Through Sunday, the Bulls are 3 losses behind first-place Boston and 1 behind Miami.
The No. 2 seed would be a stunning achievement and give the Bulls the chance for homecourt advantage in the second round of the playoffs. The Bulls visit Miami only once this season, so they could clinch the series against the Heat by winning the Feb. 24 game against Miami at the United Center.
If they lose any more ground during this road trip, though, it might not matter. Portland, Utah and New Orleans remain.
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