Bulls must have missed 'roll-over-and-die' memo

Say what you want about the end of the Vinny Del Negro era.

No, seriously. Go ahead and say it.

It's all true.

But something that should also be mentioned in his upcoming epitaph is that his Bulls played hard to the end.

A cynic could argue that they did it in spite of his coaching, not because of it, but either way they played hard down the stretch to make the playoffs, and they've played hard in this playoff series.

The Bulls showed up for both games in Cleveland, keeping Game 2 close most of the way, and Thursday night they stole Game 3 from the heavily-favored Cavs, 108-106, with a spirited effort at the UC.

"No one thought this was a cakewalk," said LeBron James. "Chicago plays hard. We let them get away from us tonight and it was a long way back."

The Bulls took an 11-point lead at the half and expanded it to 21 in the third quarter, but the Cavs cut it to 11 by the start of the fourth.

"We knew they'd make a run," said Luol Deng. "We just had to find an answer."

Deng - who many thought had disappeared into the witness protection program - was among those with an answer for Cleveland, scoring 9 of his 20 points in the second half on 4-of-7 shooting, looking at times like the Luol Deng of a few years ago, the one who was once on the verge of stardom.

He helped Derrick Rose (31 points), Joakim Noah (15 rebounds) and Kirk Hinrich (27 points) hold off a fierce charge from the Cavs, but just barely, as the Bulls escaped with a 2-point victory.

"As good a win as this was, it's just one game," Deng said thoughtfully, while his teammates celebrated loudly in the locker room. "We have to stay mature and we have to stay focused."

The Bulls were good Thursday, but as good as they were they squeaked out a win only because the Cavs shot 64 percent from the free-throw line, missing 11 in all.

If Cleveland fixes that, the Bulls won't win another game in this series, and if Del Negro doesn't get Deng more help when James isolates him, before he takes him off the dribble, it could get ugly.

In the first half, James (39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) had Deng on four straight possessions, and the Cavs got points on all of them, either with James getting to the bucket or getting close and then dishing.

In the second half, it was mostly the same, though credit Deng with a pair of fourth-quarter steals that might have been the difference in the game.

"He's a tough matchup, for sure, but I enjoy the challenge," Deng said. "I expect to stay with him and stop him, but my teammates have to assume I'm going to get beat, so they help.

"That's how you have to approach him because he's such a great player."

Offensively, Deng had a tough time against James, but he did beat The King twice, including once with a dazzling behind-the-back dribble before going baseline, leaving James in the dust.

"He's a great defender and he likes to jump the passing lane," Deng said. "I know that so I sold it well and he bit. I can't count on that again."

Deng also slashed hard to the basket twice in the first half bringing the crowd to its feet and bringing back memories of Luol Deng circa 2007, when he led the Bulls in postseason scoring with 22 points a game and was a close second in rebounds (Ben Wallace) with 9 per contest.

In this series, Deng is second on the Bulls to Derrick Rose (27 per game) with 17 points per game, and if he plays in Game 4 like he did in Game 3, the Bulls can throw a scare into Cleveland - however mild it may be.

"We believed we could play with them," Deng said. "Now we just have to stay focused and play hard again Sunday."

Playing hard is something Del Negro's Bulls have done.

It will fit right in on his tombstone.

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