Sunday evening was a night to remember for the Chicago Bulls, defeating the Miami Heat with great performances by the team’s bench and a stifling defense.
Derrick Rose overcame a couple ugly looking turnovers by scoring 28 points, Luol Deng dropped four 3-pointers and Carlos Boozer added another 14 points that led the Bulls to a 103-82 victory.
The key to last night’s victory was defense and the Bulls’ bench. Joakim Noah had 14 rebounds and the team as a whole grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. Deng did a great job guarding LeBron James by limiting him to 15 points, the same amount of points the entire Miami bench compiled.
The Bulls’ bench was able to score 28 points, leading the way was Taj Gibson with his two highlight reel dunks. The first one was a two handed slam over Dwyane Wade in the 2nd quarter and the next one, late in the game, was a jackhammer dunk that should have shattered the backboard.
The depth of the Bulls is something that can really put Miami on their heels. Since the Bulls weren’t able sign to Wade, James and Bosh last summer, the Bulls signed Boozer and a series of role players and big time contributors to their bench.
“Our bench has been great all year,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You can count on their energy and effort every night.”
A luxury that the Miami Heat haven’t had, which can become an opportunity for the Bulls to take advantage of as this series continues. The Bulls have had their struggles this postseason with getting everyone involved in the offense so it’s essential for the team to continue to perform at this level.
The team is optimistic that they can keep up this trend and continue to benefit from Miami’s weaknesses…
“We’ve won 62 games. We know we’re a good team. In order to win you have to think you’re the best.” Deng said.
Last night, the Bulls were undoubtedly the best.
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1 Comment
Running diary of the game. Bulls just too deep, tough, and aggressive for Miami. http://windycitizensports.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/game-1-running-diary-of-bulls-domination/