Derrick Rose scores 28 as the Bulls wear down the Heat in the second half and cruise to a 103-82 win in Game 1.
The series will amount to a tug-of-war for tempo, and the series opener was more of a half-court affair, which was precisely how the Bulls planned it. Heat top guns Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were limited to 18 and 12 points, respectively, and with open-court chances at a premium, neither was able to impose his will on the game. In fact, it was easy to forget that they were on the court at times.
QUOTABLE I: "They've got great players on their team. You have to make sure they don't get open shots, contest all their shots, make sure they don't get to the lane. We did a good job to make sure they saw bodies when they went to the lane."
-- Rose
QUOTABLE II: "Losing in the effort areas and second-chance points, it really deflated us. Then we lost our concentration at the offensive end and the game got away from us."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
TURNING POINT: The Bulls turned up their ball and weak-side pressure in the third quarter, when they outscored the visitors by a 24-15 margin. Specifically, the contest turned in a two-minute, 14-second span in which they ran off 10 consecutive points to take a 67-58 advantage.
QUOTABLE III: "(The defensive effectiveness) started in the second quarter with our bench guys and their ball pressure and energy. That group got us going. Then in the second half, everybody's defense was a lot better."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau
GOOD MOVE: The Bulls collapsed on long-ball threat James Jones at the 3-point arc, and for all intents and purposes, they took the sixth man out of the game. He attempted only one 3-pointer in 24 minutes, as his contributions were limited to four points and a single rebound.
BAD MOVE: The Heat packed the middle to increase their rebound chances, but that made for wide open spaces at the perimeter. Rose and forward Luol Deng (21 points) combined for seven 3-pointers, and the closest person was in Winnetka on several of them.
STAT: Reserve forward Taj Gibson (nine points, seven rebounds) threw down a pair of high-voltage dunks, the last of which provided the exclamation point in the fourth quarter.
QUOTABLE IV: "Did you see the dunks that (Gibson) had? That inspired us. I wish was 22 (years old) again. I felt that, when he did it, we all did it, you know?"
-- Bulls forward Carlos Boozer.
HOT: Chris Bosh took a lot of, uh, heat in the regular season, but most will be forgotten if the forward plays with the assertiveness that he displayed in the opener. The veteran scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 37 minutes.
NOT: The James-Wade duo combined to shoot only 12-for-32 in the field.
QUOTABLE IV: "They did a good job pressuring us. We didn't move the ball much. We let it get too late in the shot clock and had to throw up some Hail Marys."
-- Wade
DUE NEXT: Game 2 will be played at the United Center on Wednesday evening (8:30, TNT).
Heat-Bulls notebook
Posted Monday May 16, 2011 12:08AM
FACTS: In the series opener, B stood for Bulls, 'Bounds and Bench. The Central Division champions played to their strengths, as they dominated the backboards (45-33), second-chance points (31-8) and bench production (28-15) by considerable margins. Guard Derrick Rose didn't put up large numbers -- 28 points, six assists -- yet his team trailed for all of 27 seconds in the second half.The series will amount to a tug-of-war for tempo, and the series opener was more of a half-court affair, which was precisely how the Bulls planned it. Heat top guns Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were limited to 18 and 12 points, respectively, and with open-court chances at a premium, neither was able to impose his will on the game. In fact, it was easy to forget that they were on the court at times.
QUOTABLE I: "They've got great players on their team. You have to make sure they don't get open shots, contest all their shots, make sure they don't get to the lane. We did a good job to make sure they saw bodies when they went to the lane."
-- Rose
QUOTABLE II: "Losing in the effort areas and second-chance points, it really deflated us. Then we lost our concentration at the offensive end and the game got away from us."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
TURNING POINT: The Bulls turned up their ball and weak-side pressure in the third quarter, when they outscored the visitors by a 24-15 margin. Specifically, the contest turned in a two-minute, 14-second span in which they ran off 10 consecutive points to take a 67-58 advantage.
QUOTABLE III: "(The defensive effectiveness) started in the second quarter with our bench guys and their ball pressure and energy. That group got us going. Then in the second half, everybody's defense was a lot better."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau
GOOD MOVE: The Bulls collapsed on long-ball threat James Jones at the 3-point arc, and for all intents and purposes, they took the sixth man out of the game. He attempted only one 3-pointer in 24 minutes, as his contributions were limited to four points and a single rebound.
BAD MOVE: The Heat packed the middle to increase their rebound chances, but that made for wide open spaces at the perimeter. Rose and forward Luol Deng (21 points) combined for seven 3-pointers, and the closest person was in Winnetka on several of them.
STAT: Reserve forward Taj Gibson (nine points, seven rebounds) threw down a pair of high-voltage dunks, the last of which provided the exclamation point in the fourth quarter.
QUOTABLE IV: "Did you see the dunks that (Gibson) had? That inspired us. I wish was 22 (years old) again. I felt that, when he did it, we all did it, you know?"
-- Bulls forward Carlos Boozer.
HOT: Chris Bosh took a lot of, uh, heat in the regular season, but most will be forgotten if the forward plays with the assertiveness that he displayed in the opener. The veteran scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 37 minutes.
NOT: The James-Wade duo combined to shoot only 12-for-32 in the field.
QUOTABLE IV: "They did a good job pressuring us. We didn't move the ball much. We let it get too late in the shot clock and had to throw up some Hail Marys."
-- Wade
DUE NEXT: Game 2 will be played at the United Center on Wednesday evening (8:30, TNT).
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