March 4, 2009 vs. Golden State Warriors

Tonight the Golden State Warriors are in town. The last time these 2 teams met, the Bulls went small to match the Warriors, and came out with a 115-110 victory. The Bulls are actually a pretty good small team. They can beat other small teams. Makes me wonder why they don’t go small more often. Anyway, tonight is as good a chance as any to pull out a win and cover up the stink they left after the last game against Charlotte. Luol Deng is in “street clothes” (a suit) tonight, his second straight game sitting out with a bruised tibia.

1

11:00 – Bulls start where they left off last night, as BG comes up short…on a layup.

9:45 – Warriors jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. Not a good start.

9:12 – 9-0 Golden State.

9:00 – Salmons hits a foul line jumper for the Bulls’ first points. 10 seconds later, GS answers with a jumper of their own.

8:24 – After the Bulls miss their 2rd shot within a foot of the hoop, GS comes down and scores, making it 13-2. The Warriors are really running it well so far.

7:38 – Tyrus gets rejected hard trying to dunk, and lands awkwardly on his hip with his leg at a funny angle. He stays down while the Warriors score, then gets helped up after the Bulls call TO. He stays in the 17-4 game.

6:54 – Tyrus takes it to the hole again, and dunk again, this time successfully. Looked good, except he almost came down awkwardly on his leg.

6:24 – Offensive foul on Tyrus. 20-6 Warriors.

5:51 – Nice reverse layup by Salmons.

5:23 – Bulls cause a 24-second violation. They’ve forced 2 straight TOs.

4:35 – Tyrus slams it home on the put-back, although he definitely jumped over the back of Randolph. They call inadvertent whistle, basket counts. Another athletic, hard play by Tyrus. 20-10.

4:14 – Good D by Tyrus, altering the shot. He seems motivated tonight.

4:04 – Tyrus runs hard over Randolph, for the offensive foul. Maybe he’s a little too physical tonight.

3:49 – Another travel on GS.

2:39 – Noah takes a wild shot inside, but gets the rebound and puts it back in. He’s the first guy back on D, but lets a man blow by him anyway. 22-14.

1:46 – Hinrich misses an easy layup after a nice pass by Rose, but Miller grabs the rebound and puts it in. 22-18. Bulls back in it with a 12-2 run.

14.4 – Rose hits a jumper. 24-20.

GS 26-20 after 1.

2

11:35 – Rose with a double-clutch layup.

10:07 – Miller gets a layup and-1, Bulls have a chance to take the lead, but Miller misses the FT. 26-26. Bulls are playing with 3 guards (Rose, Gordon, Hinrich) and 2 centers (Joakim, Miller).

9:53 – Gordon gets a steal, tosses it ahead to Noah for the dunk. Bulls take their first lead of the game, 28-26.

8:32 – Rose with a jumper. 32-28.

6:44 – BG with a sweet behind-the-back crossover and drive for the layup. 37-32, Bulls are actually expanding their lead now.

4:34 – Rose gets loose underneath and lays it in. 44-37.

3:44 – Rose misses 2 shoots and goes down, taking a while to get up. He does though, and runs all the way down to take the ball inbounds. Shake it off DRose!

3:14 – Gordon with a nice drive and scoops it up off the glass for 2.

1:32 – Brad Miller puts up a nice little rainbow from 3 feet out. 48-41.

3.1 – Rose drives and throws it out to Hinrich who hits a 3 just in time to be the shot-clock buzzer.

Halftime: 51-45 Bulls.

3

11:35 – Rose running hard, tosses it back to Salmons for the dunk.

10:20 – Nice rejection by Noah leads to a 5-on-1 for the Bulls. Marco Belinelli manages to send Noah to the line, the worst FT shooter of the bunch.

9:46 – Gordon banks home a jumper from the elbow.

9:12 – Salmons gets a runner in the lane to fall, and-1. 60-52 Bulls.

6:01 – Rose gets out running and takes it all the way for the layup. 65-54.

2:03 – Hinrich gets the inbounds pass right back and hits a quick 3.

1:37 – Rose hits a jumper from the elbow.

After 3: 75-62.

4

11:37 – Tyrus takes it inside, lets 2 defenders fly by him, and dunks it.

7:22 – Hinrich throws a laser inside to Miller for a layup. 90-70.

5:35 – Salmons drives, hits, and-1. Bulls getting a lot of FTs in this game, and this quarter in particular.

3:51 – Rose finds Hinrich in the corner for 3. Hot Dog! 100-82.

2:04 – Wild sequence as Gordon gets a layup blocked, GS saves the ball out to Hinrich, who finds Gordon back underneath for a layup.

7.8 – Anthony Roberson gets a garbage time bucket. Looked pretty good for this first seconds played for Chicago.

Final 110-88. Bulls have a nice turnaround after starting the game trailing 20-6.



Box score notes: Joakim Noah has a big night, 14 points and 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 8/8 from the line. Pretty good, especially considering he played zero minutes last game against the Warriors. Salmons led the way with a game-hight 23 points on 7/14 shooting. Rose 14 and 6A. Miller 19 points.

Jumpers: Rose 3/4, Tyrus 0/3.