Although the Miami Heat currently holds the best record in
the NBA and are leading the Eastern Conference by 11 games, the shorthanded Chicago Bulls erased
history tonight when they beat the Heat 101-97 in an intense game that ended
the Heat’s historical 27-game winning streak (the second longest since the
Lakers 33 consecutive wins in the 71-72’ season).
Even with Derrick Rose,
Joakim Noah, Rip Hamilton and Marco Belinelli all out today because of
injuries, the Bulls played great on offense and defense. The two Chicago stars
that stood out tonight were Carlos Boozer, who had an amazing double-double of
21 points and 17 rebounds, and Luol Deng with 28 points (12 of which were in
the fourth quarter), seven assists and five rebounds. But there is no doubt the
reason the Bulls won tonight is because the team as a whole played well. “I
thought the ball movement overall was very good” said Bulls’ Coach Tom Thibodeau.
On the Heat’s end, LeBron James came out with 32 points, seven
rebounds, three assists, four blocks and two steals—obviously fantastic stats (but
not good enough for a win). Coach Thibs created defensive plays that put James
in the awkward position of being the scorer instead of the facilitator role he’s
used to. Dwayne Wade also had great stats after missing two games to rest his knee.
He came out with 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four steals.
The Bulls led the Heat 55-46 at the half, but things turned
around for the Heat in the third when they finally caught up to the Bulls. At
the end though, Miami came up short getting outscored by the Bulls 32-29 in the
fourth.
I’ve always been a proud Bulls fan, but it feels especially
sweet tonight. Hard work pays off. Great game Bulls!
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