Rose, Deng answer call for Bulls at AT&T

1 of 22 | Share

Bulls 96, Spurs 89: Feb. 29, 2012


FOR SPORTS – Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose shoots over San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker during first half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


FOR SPORTS – Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose shoots around San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan during first half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


FOR SPORTS – Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah looks for room around San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan during first half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker gets around Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose, during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker gets pressure from Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Danny Green keeps the ball away from Chicago Bulls C.J. Watson during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose grimaces after collision in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Danny Green, left, and Tim Duncan pressure Chicago Bulls Carlos Boozer during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Richard Jefferson looks on as Chicago Bulls Luol Deng celebrates a three-pointer with 39.6 seconds left in the game at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan walks back to the bench after missing the second three-pointer in a row late in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls, at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose cuts through the defense of San Antonio Spurs Danny Green, left, and Tim Duncan during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


FOR SPORTS – Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan grab for a loose ball as San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker looks on during second half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Bulls won 96-89. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Gary Neal shoots between Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson (left) and Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah during second half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Bulls won 96-89. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan reacts to a foul call during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker gets the ball stolen by Chicago Bulls Ronnie Brewer during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


FOR SPORTS – Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng celebrates after making a 3-pointer late in the game with the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Bulls won 96-89. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan dunks ahead of Chicago Bulls’ Carlos Boozer during second half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Bulls won 96-89. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich yells during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Bulls won 96-89. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs from left, Gary Neal, Tony Parker and Matt Bonner protest a foul during the first half against the Chicago Bulls, at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)


FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker looks for room around Chicago Bulls’ Omer Asik during second half action Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Bulls won 96-89. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)


SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker gets caught up in the defense of Chicago Bulls Carlos Boozer, left, and Joakim Noah during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio Express-News)

  • SPURS BULLS EAO
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 2
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 3
  • SPURS BULLS 01 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 02 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 03 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 04 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 05 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 06 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 07 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 08 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 09 JL
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 4
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 5
  • SPURS BULLS 10 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 11 JL
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 6
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 7
  • SPURS BULLS 12 JL
  • SPURS BULLS 13 JL
  • SPURS BULLS EAO 8
  • SPURS BULLS 14 JL

By Jeff McDonald

When it comes to setting a defensive game plan against the Chicago Bulls, it takes neither a rocket scientist nor a championship-winning basketball coach to identify their starting point.

It begins with the guy with No. 1 on his back, the ball in his hands and the MVP trophy on his mantle:Derrick Rose.

“We know who the most important guy to try to stop is,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before tipoff Wednesday. “We also know we’re not going to stop him.”

Popovich’s prediction proved prophetic in Chicago’s hard-earned 96-89 victory at the ATT Center, especially late with the game on the line.

Rose found his way to 29 points, including back-to-back baskets in the final 1:46, as the Bulls welcomed the Spurs back from the rodeo trip and All-Star break with only their second home loss of the season.

“Down the stretch, Chicago showed why they’ve won all those games,” Popovich said. “They made shots and were real solid defensively.”

The Spurs’ first home game since Feb. 4 felt a little like, if not a heavyweight fight, than at least a middleweight one. Chicago (29-8) is the team considered to be the biggest threat to Miami’s Eastern Conference crown. The Spurs (24-11) are second in the West behind Oklahoma City.

For much of the night, it was a defensive struggle unlikely to drive ratings on the national broadcast.

The Spurs held the Bulls to 42 percent shooting. The Bulls held the Spurs to 43 percent.

Before the game, Popovich called Chicago, which came in allowing 88.1 points per game, “most likely the best defensive team in the league.” Nothing that happened Wednesday changed his mind.

It was the Spurs’ second-lowest scoring night at the ATT Center this season, better only than the 86 points they scored in their only other home loss in 2012, Jan. 20 against Sacramento.

When defense wasn’t enough to finish the Bulls’ victory, Rose took them the rest of the way.

Three times in the late moments, the Spurs climbed within three points, only to have Rose beat them back, directly or indirectly.

Rose’s impossible one-handed banker put Chicago ahead 87-82 with 1:46 left. His pull-up jumper made it 89-84 with 1:10 to go.

On the Bulls’ next possession, after Gary Neal had sliced the Spurs’ deficit to 89-86, Rose passed out of a double-team at the top of the key. The ball swung to the 3-point arc, where Luol Deng swished his second long ball of the quarter to give the Bulls a 92-86 edge with 39.6 seconds to play.

“We made a couple of errors on a couple of guys, and they knocked down some threes,” Popovich said. “That’s the ballgame.”

The Spurs trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter before turning an about-face behind Tim Duncan.

After starting the game 0 for 4, Duncan hit six consecutive shots in the frame, scoring 12 of his 18 points during a 15-3 run that put the Spurs into the lead.

“The effort was there,” said Popovich, whose team fell to 13-2 at home. “I’m pleased with that.”

Neal, who was a game-time decision due to a sore hamstring, kept the Spurs in the game down the stretch. He made a variety of tough shots on his way to a season-high 21 points off the bench.

“There were a couple of contested floaters that went in for me,” Neal said. “If those don’t go in, maybe I’m 5 for 15 instead of 9 for 15 and I’m not doing this interview.”

While Rose was carving them up, the Spurs’ own All-Star point guard struggled to return to regular-season form after the break.

Tony Parker finished with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting, though he did log nine assists.

“I thought the whole team was rusty,” Parker said. “I was rusty, too. I didn’t do anything for four days, five days. Everybody was kind of rusty. We missed some easy shots.”

When the chips were down, Rose was not. Even as the Spurs knew what was coming.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

– Photos by Jerry Lara and Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News

Leave a Reply