Rose just keeps playing; Bulls just keep winning
One of the great unanswered questions of the weekend is how many NBA players would have ignored stomach ulcers to produce 42 points, 19 assists and lead his team to a pair of victories?
Ulcers are not the most common sports malady, but they can't be pleasant.
Derrick Rose didn't let the pain or lack of solid food stop him from leading the Bulls to a 110-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night at the United Center.
Rose was quiet in the first half, then hit 7 of 10 shots for 15 points following intermission and finished with 20.
Indiana was within 2 points late in the third quarter before Rose drilled a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left, then opened the fourth with 2 more baskets to send the home team ahead 81-72.
“He could easily be sitting down, chilling, like other stars might do around the league,” teammate Carlos Boozer said. “He's fighting through all that stuff because he knows he can get out there and give us whatever he's got.”
One concession Rose made was less time talking to reporters after the game. He answered a couple of questions and left, which was appropriate given these circumstances.
“We got these wins out of the way,” Rose said. “Now I can rest up and hopefully get better.”
Rose played 73 minutes in the wins over Orlando and Indiana. He didn't always shoot well (14-for-38) but piled up 19 assists with just 4 turnovers.
“If you didn't know he had ulcers, you wouldn't really be able to tell unless you saw him sitting on the side,” forward Kyle Korver said. “He's still playing at a really high level and still has incredible speed. He's leading us.”
The Bulls (33-14) finished a season-long, six-game home stand with 5 straight wins. They are 23-4 at home but will depart next week for a five-game West Coast trip and play 11 of their next 14 on the road.
Scoring balance was one of the Bulls' strengths. Boozer led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Luol Deng added 19 points and 8 assists, while Korver tacked on 16 points.
This had the potential to be a dangerous game, coming a day after the quality win over Orlando. The Pacers (17-27) were competitive during the first three quarters, tying the game at 70-70 with 3:57 left in the third on a Darren Collison lay-in.
“This game had just as much value as last night's game,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It counts just as much.”
Indiana closed within 6 points a couple of times in the fourth quarter. But by the time Ronnie Brewer completed an impressive dunk over Josh McRoberts with 3:27 left, the game was out of hand.
Brewer took a hard foul from McRoberts but still finished the highlight slam. On the ensuing free throw, McRoberts was given a technical foul for some sort of hostile act toward Boozer, and Pacers coach Jim O'Brien was ejected after getting his second technical of the night.
“I have no idea (what happened),” Boozer said. “I just play. I don't ref the game. I just play the game.”
“I thought I blocked out (on the free throw) and wasn't trying to be hostile,” said McRoberts, who led Indiana with 20 points.
The Bulls improved to 11-0 against Central Division opponents.