Never would have predicted that the Bulls would win two overtime games in this series. Anyone who has watched them this year knows that they have perfected folding down the stretch to an art form. Ben Gordon can be relied on to make a big shot, as he did at the end of regulation, but the Bulls defense rarely makes stops during crunch time. I'm not even sure that they did it that much in this game. It seemed more like Boston missing some shots, but they did do it a few times, and it turned out to be just enough.
It would have been a brutal loss if they didn't pull it out, what with the missed free throws, bad calls, and the usual bonehead plays by Tyrus. I wrote several weeks back that the Bulls best lineup is the four guard with Miller, when they can get away with it. And Vinny went with that, but he switched in Noah and Tyrus sometimes as well. Noah was good this game, so I was happy with that. Tyrus should be on the floor only in short stretches and never after the third quarter, and should never be allowed to take a jump shot. He took one 300 degree turnaround jumper that I wouldn't even try in a game of HORSE and was lucky to graze the rim. Even worse, during a key moment towards the end, with the Bulls ahead by two and Boston needing to foul, he ignores Rose, who was standing right next to him, and instead dribbles down court and gets fouled. Then he bricks the free throw!
Of course a lot of the Bulls were bricking free throws, but fortunately not Salmons, who made some big ones in OT. Rose had too many turnovers again, but was more aggressive offensively, and played his best since game one.
A big reason the Bulls pulled out this double OT miracle was that Perkins fouled out. Not that he's that great, but the Celtic frontcourt was decimated and that allowed the Bulls to stay small without getting killed on the rebounds. The Bulls should continue to go at him early because he is foul prone.
A few misc thoughts:
Scalabine must lead the league in fouls per minute.
Rondo's headband push his ears into a Vulcan point.
Big Baby Davis nearly won an Oscar for his reaction to Miller's shove. If he would have shed a few tears I think he would have gotten that ejection to stick.
How far has Marbury's star fallen? He only plays five minutes in a double OT game.
Salmons and Hinrich definitely bother Pierce. Yes, he had 29 this game and shot well for stretches, but he missed 15 shots and looked frustrated at times.
Rondo has really improved his game. Rose is going to be better for playing a series against him. I also think Rose will eventually be clearly the better player, although he's not in this series so far.
When the announcers were speculating on what the Bulls were going to do when Luol Deng (and I should add "if he ever") returns, I could only scream: "Trade!".
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