Rose scores 28 points, Bulls beat Cavs 100-91
Considering it has been nearly 13 years since the championship era ended, the current dilemma has to be unfamiliar to Bulls fans.
During the Tim Floyd era, the team could barely manage any wins. While Scott Skiles was coach, the Bulls did reasonably well when they played their hearts out for 48 minutes.
These days the Bulls seem to be able to win games without playing particularly well or even trying all that hard.
The latest example was Saturday night's 100-91 victory over Cleveland at the United Center, when the Bulls outscored the Cavs 32-9 in the third quarter to erase their poor defensive effort in the first half.
With this win, the Bulls (22-10) have gone 13-2 since Dec. 4 and improved to 17-1 against opponents that are currently at or below .500.
“I think we're trying pretty hard,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought our defense was poor in the first half, but our defense in the third quarter was great. We'll take the wins any way we can get them, but we know we have to improve in a number of different areas.”
The Cavaliers (8-25) were missing three of their top six scorers with guard Mo Williams (hip), guard Daniel Gibson (thigh) and center Anderson Varejao (broken cheekbone) sidelined by injuries.
In their first year without LeBron James, the Cavs have lost 16 of their last 17 games.
None of that mattered in the first half when the Bulls were caught flat-footed on defense and fell behind 61-53 at intermission. Cleveland opened a 10-point lead on three occasions.
“It's not easy to win in the league, no matter if you're playing against a .500 team, an under-.500 team,” forward Carlos Boozer said. “They've got pride over there.
“They love playing ball. They have a plan. They have a coach that wants to win. For us, we take it for what it is. We want to play better, and we will play better. But we're also happy we're winning.”
The Cavaliers scored the first basket of the third quarter, then hit just 2 of 20 shots during the next 11:40 as the Bulls suddenly played inspired defense.
Guard Derrick Rose made sure this one didn't slip away by producing 12 points and 5 assists during the third-quarter surge. Rose finished with 28 points and 11 assists.
Luol Deng added 23 points, while Boozer contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds. Veteran Kurt Thomas posted a season-high 13 rebounds.
“The first half we allowed them to get 61. Our defense was really bad,” Deng said. “The third quarter, it just shows when we play defense, we get easy baskets. We can get out and run.”
Deng's 3-point play finished the third quarter with the Bulls ahead 85-70. Cleveland put up a fight all the way to the finish, though. The Cavs got as close as 92-89 with 2:48 remaining after a couple of free throws by Antawn Jamison (19 points).
Rose answered with a driving lay-in and the Bulls eventually put it away, even though they hit just 6 of 11 free throws in the final 3:06.
“I don't care who you are. It's hard to win in the NBA,” Boozer said. “So we're proud of ourselves for winning, but we also do want to play much better. So we take it for what it is. We want to play a lot better moving forward, but we are winning.”
Mike McGraw's game tracker
Bulls 100, Cavaliers 91
<B>Nothing easy: </B>Cleveland was missing three starters, with guard Mo Williams, guard Daniel Gibson and center Anderson Varejao sidelined by injuries. The Cavs scored at will in the first half, though, and opened a 10-point lead. The Bulls diminished the upset potential by winning the third quarter 32-9.
<B>Rose bowls them over: </B>Derrick Rose dominated the third quarter with 12 points and 5 assists; he finished with 28 and 11. Luol Deng added 23 points, while Carlos Boozer tacked on 20 points and 11 rebounds.
<B>Contrite Cavs: </B>Forward Antawn Jamison, who led the visitors with 19 points: “As long as I'm on the court, I think I can win the game. I don't care who's out there with me.”