With 4:35 left, the game was tied at 90. In a game where Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 53 points, it was Rose who showed them up and stole the show.
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Portland outscored Memphis 40-25 in the third quarter to turn a tight game into a rout. He pointed out that the scorers should have participated more in “trying to get more stops than that other team”.
The Thunder, who are a perennial favorite in the West, are looking to rebound from a tough loss last night at home to the Raptors.
With the game in the balance late in the game, it was Rose who asserted himself and took over. The Bulls offense identified it and attacked Kanter in the pick-and-roll.
Life hasn’t been a walk in park these days for Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose. Pau Gasol was the screener.
Odds are Rose will be ready to go for this game against his good pal Westbrook.
Rose said that he is improving and the Bulls have confidence that he can handle the offense despite his injuries. After starting the season off against Eastern Conference playoff favorites Miami, Atlanta and Chicago, Charlotte now hits the road in four of their next five games, which includes contests against San Antonio, Dallas and a Chicago team that will surely have revenge on their minds. Ten points in less than three minutes of game time for a suddenly resurgent Rose in his brightest moment of the young season. They’ll continue to win games, say all the right things and act as if it is still 2011.
Where to begin? Well, one is the fact that Rose has failed to stay healthy for the last couple of years.
Rose has to make Westbrook work on the offensive and defensive end. Chicago wasn’t hiding its strategy. These three, along with Jimmy Butler, the hands-down best player on the team, need to bring that effort on a consistent basis, obviously, for this team to click under new coach Fred Hoiberg. No question. Why would they trade Rose when they have at least a chance of challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs again?
“Getting over screens is really, really hard”, Donovan said.
The big man wouldn’t go there when asked if he felt the same way, saying, “That’s not me”. For him to have a game like this, I know is a huge confidence booster.
In other words, we don’t know when, or if, anything will happen. Yes, Thursday’s could’ve been partly attributed to a schedule assist, with the Thunder finishing four games in five nights. There are not many windows to make a run at an National Basketball Association title in this league.
Do you think D-Rose and the Bulls are headed for a bad breakup? It is clear that the tides are shifting over in Chicago.
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For the Thunder, it was an infuriating end to a surprisingly frustrating start to this season.
