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Bulls hang on despite late Cavs run to win Game 3 106 - 108
April 22, 2010
The guard combination of Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich carried the Bulls to the playoff win they had to have. Fighting through some incredible occurrences in the final minute, the Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-106 Thursday to take Game 3 in the first-round playoff series and get back into the competition. The Cavaliers take a 2-1 lead in the series into Sunday's Game Four at the United Center. Rose had 31 points and Hinrich, who had only 13 points in the first two games of the series in Cleveland, had 27 points, hitting 9 of 12 shots, including all four 3-pointers he attempted. But Hinrich missed two free throws in the final minute, Rose missed one of two and Luol Deng missed one with 3.5 seconds left to give Cavaliers more life than they might have had otherwise. Anthony Parker's desperation half-court heave would have won the game but did not have much of a chance to go in. Cleveland superstar LeBron James finished with 39 points, making 14 of 26 shots with 10 rebounds and eight assists. He had 13 points and five assists in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers fought their way into what eventually became a tight game. Mo Williams had 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and Antawn Jamison had 19 points. The Bulls also got 20 points from Luol Deng while Joakim Noah had 10 points and 15 rebounds. The Bulls shot 50 percent (42 for 84) for the game and had only eight turnovers for the game. "We helped them out by missing some free throws,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We had to gut it out, and our guys made some plays. We needed Kirk to play well for us and he had a monster game for us." James said the Cavaliers were not with their defensive effort.
"Giving up 108 points is not our M.O. [modus operandi],'' James said. "Fifty percent shooting is not our M.O. They are doing a good job exploiting what we are doing defensively." The Bulls led 79-68 going into the fourth quarter, but there was a certainty that they were going to have difficulty maintaining that lead. "You know they are going to make their run,'' Deng said. "I give our guys credit,'' Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win down the stretch." When Jamison made a lay-up with 4:17 left, the Cavaliers had gone on a 24-15 run through the fourth quarter and trailed 94-92. Jamison had 11 of his 19 points in that run. The Bulls withstood that assault, and went ahead again 102-94 on a pair of floaters by Rose. With 2:12 left in the game, they had control. Williams made a 3-pointer with 30.7 seconds left to pull Cleveland within five points, 104-99. Hinrich, a 75 percent free throw shooter, missed two free throws, and James made a long 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to create a 104-102 difference. Rose, an 83 percent free throw shooter, was fouled immediately but missed one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. After a timeout, Cleveland's Anderson Varejao made one of two free throws, and Miller was fouled with 6.2 seconds left. He made both free throw to give the Bulls a 107-103 lead, but Williams again made a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to pull Cleveland within one point. Deng was fouled immediately, but missed the second of two free throws (Deng shot 76 percent from the line this season). Parker got the rebound, dribbled almost to midcourt but missed the potential game-winning heave. "Those are the ones you practice,'' Hinrich said. "Those hurt."
"We've got to find a way to forget about all that and stay positive,'' Deng said. James scored the game's first two points but the Bulls took control of the contest early, and Rose played a huge role early. He had 15 points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer at the time clock buzzer after Noah lost the ball dribbling inside. Deng had several key baskets in the opening quarter, getting two in a row when he scored, then stole the inbounds pass to give the Bulls the lead for good at 6-2. He scored again on an authoritative drive to the basket after Brad Miller and Noah blocked James on the Cleveland end. The Bulls led by as much as 16 points in the second quarter and hit key baskets when the Cavaliers tried to get back. James scored twice when he reentered the game, but Hinrich made a 3-pointer with seven minutes left to stem the first tide, and Miler and Hinrich made jumpers to end the quarter and let the Bulls hold a 56-45 halftime lead. The Bulls were cruising at the start of the third quarter, scoring the first three baskets and going on a 12-2 run to go ahead 68-47. The Cavaliers weren't helping themselves; Parker stepped out of bounds after receiving a pass, and Williams missed a pair of free throws.
The Cavaliers then scored the next 13 points, including one of James' patented 3-pointers in the face of terrific defense by Deng. Facing the Bulls forward for about 15 seconds, James tried to find a lane to the basket but when he was denied twice, he stepped back and hit the bomb, deflating Bulls fans who were cheering for Deng's effort. When Williams made a 3-pointer with 4:24 left, the Bulls lead was eight, 68-60, and the game was moving at a slower pace, the Cavaliers preferred tempo. Later in the quarter, Hinrich hit a 3-pointer to put the Bulls up 71-60 (he was 7-for-10 at that point in the game) then Deng made one of the best baskets of his career. With James defending him wide left, Deng dribbled the ball behind his back to get past James, moved through two Cavaliers in front of him and, on the far side of the basket, put the ball up while falling down. The basket gave the Bulls a 75-62 lead and seemed to inspire the team.