The Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 102-101 on a James Johnson buzzer beater in London, at the O2.

James Johnson was phenomenal down the stretch. Johnson gave the Bulls a 100-99 lead after scoring on the fastbreak and converting an and one. The Jazz reclaimed the lead on a pair of Ronnie Price free throws. James Johnson tried to be the hero first, but he missed, but the ball went out of bounds on the Jazz.

Then it was Derrick Byars’ turn. He launched a three from the top of the key, which careened off the rim to the left. Johnson grabbed the rebound, flicked it up, and it was good. The entire O2 erupted in celebration.

In total, James Johnson finished with 18 points 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, a much better outing than his first preseason game with the Bulls. Johnson’s energy level was just a lot higher tonight. I think it might have helped Johnson to have Rose out of the lineup. In the first game, Rose really dominated the ball on the fastbreak, while in this game, Johnson was given more reign to show off his skills in transition. When Rose gets back in the lineup, he will have to adjust to Johnson’s great transition skills.

Kirk Hinrich had an impressive day today. He finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. The best part of Hinrich’s game today is how efficiently Hinrich scored the ball. He finished the game with a 102.5 TS%. Hinrich gains the distinct honor of being the first Bull to score over 10 points in a game on over 100 TS%.

The London favorite, Luol Deng, finished with 18 points, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. This was a fitting game for Deng to have in London. In his time with the Great Britain National Team, Deng always finished with point and assist totals similar to what he did today. It’s nice to see Deng moving around the court so well again. It looks as though he is finally completely healed from not only his stress fracture, but the Achilles and back injuries that hindered him in the 07-08 season as well.

Jannero Pargo finished with 16 points on 6-17 shooting and had 5 assists. Pargo chucked up shots in a disgusting display of shot selection, which could make one long for Larry Hughes even. The one big positive of Pargo’s game tonight is that he was 3-6 from three. If Pargo can hit threes at a 40-50% clip this season, he will have a very valuable place on this team, as three point shooting is key in winning NBA games.

Joakim Noah was good today, scoring 10 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing 4 assists, and blocking an astonishing 6 blocks. You would like to see Noah get after it on the boards better, but his shotblocking was great tonight. We know Noah will rebound come regular season time. What’s especially nice about Noah’s first two games this pre-season, is that you know he was serious when saying he worked hard.

Taj Gibson had another solid showing with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Brad Miller had 8 points and 5 rebounds in his pre-season debut, while showing great fire. Derrick Byars had 7 points on 6-7 shooting.

Deron Williams had 16 points and 3 assists for the Jazz. Paul Millsap had 18 points and 6 rebounds. Wesley Matthews also had 16 points for the Jazz.

The Bulls were without Derrick Rose, John Salmons, and Tyrus Thomas.

Carlos Boozer had a quiet 6 point and 5 rebound night.

With the win, the Bulls improve to 2-0 in pre-season action.

Closing Comments

The NBA needs to make the Bulls vs. Jazz in an obscure location an annual event. Last year, in Assembly Hall, Ben Gordon (13 points in the fourth quarter) and Andres Nocioni (8 points in the fourth quarter) hit clutch shot after clutch shot, and clutch free throw after clutch free throw to lead the Bulls to an exciting 108-105 victory. This year, both are departed, but the results were the same. Different player, different place, same result. It was James Johnson’s turn this time around as he downed the Jazz in the O2 in London.

The Bulls just have a knack for downing the Jazz in an exciting fashion, even in the regular season. Last season, Rose and Gordon combined for 50 points in a game against the Jazz, as they led the Bulls from behind to victory. In an earlier regular season game, Larry Hughes hit a game winner off a rebound, similar to what Johnson did yesterday.

And of course there are those game winners Michael Jordan hit in the finals, as well as those other monster performances.

The two Jazz games are on November 26th and March 9th. Mark your calendars, because they’re going to be good ones.

Also, it was cool to see how much support the Bulls got from the London crowd.

Go Bulls!

Tomorrow, the Chicago Bulls head to London, England for a preseason game against the Utah Jazz. MOUTHPIECESPORTS personality Jillian Jesk gets reaction from Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Tyrus Thomas, Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, and British citizen Luol Deng.

Derrick Rose attended the Chelsea FC soccer match in London yesterday. Rose was joined by Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz, as well as some of the Luvabulls and Utah Jazz cheerleaders. Rose and the Bulls are in London as part of the NBA Europe Live 2009. The Bulls will play the Utah Jazz tomorrow at the O2 Arena, a game which will be shown on NBA TV.

Chelsea FC won the soccer match 2-0.

Here are some pictures of Rose’s trip the the Chelsea vs. Liverpool match, courtesy of Michael Ehrlich.

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls will be without John Salmons in their game in London, as his wife is expected to give birth soon. The Bulls may also be without Derrick Rose, who was injured in Friday’s game.

LONDON — Derrick Rose celebrated his 21st birthday Sunday, but he also sat out Bulls practice after hurting his right ankle and Achilles in Friday’s game in Indiana. Rose said he isn’t sure whether he’d play Tuesday against Utah at this city’s O2 Arena.

“The pain is back on my heel,” Rose said. “I can’t even run on it. I can walk on it, but I can’t run. I really want to play so I’m just going to get treatment and hope for the best.”

The Bulls also are without John Salmons, who is back in the U.S. because his wife is close to giving birth to their second child.

The Bulls should just rest Rose. That Achilles injury is one that can just linger for awhile if you keep playing on it, as we saw with Luol Deng during the 2007-2008 season. Deng’s Achilles injury grew into a bigger problem, when he injured his back as a result of it.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Bulls are planning on playing an exhibition game in London next preseason as part of the NBA’s Europe Live tour. Here is what the Chicago Tribune wrote:

Though the league office hasn’t released anything official, the Bulls are working under the assumption they’ll travel to at least London — home to the famous clock tower — next training camp as part of the NBA’s Europe Live. It will be the fourth year of the league’s overseas initiative.

It’s unknown whether the Bulls will travel to other cities or how many exhibition games they will play. Miami and New Jersey played against each other in both London and Paris in October 2008.

To honor Britain for granting his family political asylum from Sudan, Bulls forward Luol Deng earned his British citizenship in 2006 and has worked extensively trying to qualify British basketball for the 2012 London Olympics.

Through his father, Yannick, the former tennis star, Joakim Noah has ties to France. Also, Ben Gordon, an unrestricted free agent who may or may not be with the Bulls, was born in London.

The Bulls haven’t traveled overseas since playing in Paris in October 1997.

The trip will be good, as it will allow Luol Deng, and maybe Ben Gordon, who both might be playing for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympics to expand the popularity of the game in Great Britain. It could also just lead to worse starts to the season for Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, two guys who have struggled early on in the season in the past.

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The Times is reporting that Great Britain officials are worried that Luol Deng will not be able to play in the 2012 Olympics in London. They also fear that they will not be able to even qualify in 2012 without Deng.

Apparently now the NBA insures it’s top 150 contracts with MetLife. MetLife has the right to exclude 14 of those contracts from their coverage. Apparently Luol Deng is one of those guys excluded from coverage. This is just speculation on my part, but I would imagine a guy like Dwyane Wade is one of the exclusions as well, but that USA Basketball probably has a greater budget, so they are able to cover any insurance issues within their budget. As noted by The Times, Great Britain basketball only has a 1.5 million euros a year budget.

The cost for supplemental insurance would be $500,000 based on quotes Great Britain officials have received. They assume that they will have to pay this supplemental insurance every year, which would run them $2.5 million for Deng’s commitment through the 2012 London Olympics.

Now I have no power to tell someone how to spend their money, and wouldn’t like someone telling me how to spend my money, but why doesn’t Luol Deng foot the bill, or at least part of it? You would think with that $71 million contract, potentially $80 million, he would be able to pay $2.5 million over the next 5 years.

If Luol Deng really cares about spreading basketball to Great Britain and playing for their national team, is there really any reason we shouldn’t expect him to pay the insurance fee so he can play for Great Britain? If I had that much money, and wanted to represent my country, I know I would.

Source: The Times