Rose soars as Bulls beat Bucks
The biggest cheer of the night at the United Center might have been when Derrick Rose checked out with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The fans appreciated Rose's performance, which ended with 23 points and 7 assists. They also had to be relieved that Rose made it through his first playoff game in three years with no harm.
The Bulls turned up the defense as the game progressed and pulled away for a 103-91 victory over Milwaukee in Game 1 of this first-round playoff series. Game 2 is Monday at the UC.
There was a scare in the first quarter when Rose landed awkwardly and stayed on the ground for a few seconds before being helped to his feet by a couple of teammates. The crowd noise when that happened was tough to describe, sort of an alarmed gasp combined with disgust.
Rose left the game not long after that incident, leaving everyone to wonder how he was feeling. The answer arrived in the second quarter when he attacked the basket aggressively and hit all 5 of his shot attempts. Rose added 3 baskets from 3-point range in the second half.
This was his first playoff game since April 28, 2012 when he suffered a torn ACL late in a game with Philadelphia.
Milwaukee shot 59.1 percent in the first quarter, but finished the game at 39.3 percent. Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 18 points.
Check back for more on this game from Mike McGraw.