Chicago Bulls 101 at Utah Jazz 100
November 24th, 2008 by Andrew WamboldtThe Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 101 to 100 on a Larry Hughes buzzer beater to give the Bulls their second win of the circus trip.
Derrick Rose took over down the stretch scoring basket after basket to keep the Bulls in the game. With the Bulls down 100 to 99, Rose pulled up for a jumpshot and bricked it off the back of the rim. The ball bounced out to Hughes on the left side and Hughes stuck in the jumpshot for the win as time expired.
Rose was phenomenal tonight. Rose had 25 points and 9 assists. It is going to be difficult for Rose to be denied the rookie of the year award if he continues up this type of play. Rose is not only putting up pretty stats, but has also led his team to victory on many occasions.
Larry Hughes started at small forward once again and put in another nice performance. Hughes finished the game with 16 points on 5-10 shooting. If Hughes keeps up this play, he should continue to start at small forward, especially if Deng keeps up his current play. Luol Deng was abominable tonight, scoring 2 points on 1-5 shooting and turning the ball over 3 times in just 13 minutes of action. Deng doesn’t even look like an NBA player out there.
Ben Gordon had a solid game, finishing with 15 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Gordon hardly touched the ball in the fourth quarter, only taking one shot. As a result, the Bulls offense stagnated a bit in the fourth allowing Utah to get back in the game, but the Bulls were still able to win this one thanks to Derrick Rose taking over the game and Hughes’ nice jumpshot.
In the first quarter, Ben Gordon missed his first free throw of the game. This ended Ben Gordon’s 36 free throw streak.
Drew Gooden gave the Bulls some production in the front court, scoring 18 points, although his defense was poor. Aaron Gray scored 8 points off the bench and got the Bulls some good baskets throughout the game.
Once again, the Bulls front court was completely dominated. Mehmet Okur had 26 points and 9 rebounds and Paul Millsap had 21 points and 10 rebounds. This is a real problem for the Bulls and Paxson needs to start addressing it by a trade, whether it is making a move for Chris Kaman, Joel Pryzbrilla, or someone else. The Bulls cannot continue to give up big games to marginal front court players like Millsap and Okur.
Ronnie Brewer also had 18 points for the Jazz.
This was by no means a pretty win. The Jazz were without their two best players, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, and were also missing some role players. Still, it is a win on the circus trip, and you cannot take such wins to come by since they have been so scarce since Jordan retired.
The Bulls are now 7-8 on the season and 2-3 on the circus trip. The Bulls have now equaled the amount of wins that we predicted them to get on the circus trip.
The Bulls next game is Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio. The Spurs are expected to get Manu Ginobili back for Wednesday’s game.
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Tags: Ben Gordon, Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls, Circus Trip, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Drew Gooden, Game Winner, Larry Hughes, Luol Deng, Mehmet Okur, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz
