Bulls-Hawks notebook

Bulls-Hawks notebook

Wednesday May 11, 2011 12:34AM

THE FACTS: Derrick Rose scored 33 points and backup forward Taj Gibson scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead the host Chicago Bulls to a 95-83 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points, but the Hawks shot just 29 percent in the fourth quarter, which started with the Bulls up by just one point.
THE FACTS II: The Bulls ran out to a 10-2 lead immediately, and led by 15 points in the first half, but the Hawks battled back to take the lead by one point in the third quarter. The Bulls then got serious on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Hawks to 15 points.
QUOTABLE: "Taj, he doesn't know how good he is right now."
-- Rose, talking about teammate Taj Gibson
THE STAT: The Hawks were 1-for-12 from 3-point range, and Jamal Crawford finished the game 1-for-9 overall and missed all four of his 3-point shots.
THE STAT II: The Bulls, needing someone other than Rose to score, got 11 points from Luol Deng and eight points from Keith Bogans in the first quarter.
TURNING POINT: The Bulls went on a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter to build a 78-70 lead. The key play in the spurt was a three-point play by Gibson.
HOT: Gibson was 5-for-5 from the field for his 11 points. Bogans contributed 11 points, making three of five 3-pointers.
NOT: Joakim Noah contributed nothing offensively, missing his two shots in 27 minutes. Outside threat Kyle Korver played just four minutes and did not take a shot.
ROOKIE WATCH: Bulls center Omer Asik played almost 20 minutes filling in for Noah. He had four rebounds and was a key to the Bulls' defensive lineup.
GOOD MOVE: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau went with his best defensive lineup through most of the fourth quarter, with Rose, Deng, Ronnie Brewer, Gibson and Asik on the floor.
BAD MOVE: Jason Collins started again at center for the Hawks, but played just 14 minutes and contributed little on either end of the floor.
NOTABLE: Although Gibson became the star of the game with his fourth-quarter performance, the Hawks' bench outscored the Bulls' bench 19-17, led by Zaza Pachulia's 13 points.
UP NEXT: Game 6 is Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Philips Arena in Atlanta.