Bulls Game No. 18: Bulls lose double-overtime classic in return home
24. 132. 79. Final. 129
After finishing above .500 for just the second time since 1997-1998 on their annual “Circus Trip”, the Chicago Bulls returned home to a 13-win Dallas Mavericks club in the first of three games at home for the Bulls in the next week. The results were fairly basic on Tuesday; just a simple, chaotic, mind-boggling, double-overtime thriller that saw just about everything.
Well, double overtime is one way to return back home after a seven-game road trip.
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After winning four of seven straight road games, the Bulls returned home on Tuesday night to take on one of the pleasant surprises in the NBA this season: the Dallas Mavericks.
The result?
A 132-129 double overtime loss to the Mavs.
Tuesday had everything for the Bulls: a 34-year-old veteran playing 50 minutes, a superstar point guard banking in a game-tying three at the end of the (first) overtime and a blasphemous foul while leading by three in the final seconds.
Pau Gasol played arguably his best game since signing with the Bulls during the summer. In 50 minutes of action, Gasol scored 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds in the loss.
"“He’s having a terrific season. He does a little bit of everyting. His rebounding has been terrific. He had a great summer and he came into camp in great shape.”-Tom Thibodeau on Pau Gasol, CSNChicago.com"
Derrick Rose played start-to-finish for the third consecutive game, scoring 18 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing five rebounds in 37 minutes.
(Oh, and Rose banked in a ridiculous top-of-the-key trey to send the game to a second overtime. Yeah, he shot that with one hand.)
The play of the game happened after Gasol drained a pair of free throws to give the Bulls a 108-105 lead with just a few seconds left.
As Mavs guard Monta Ellis brought the ball into the frontcourt, he was fouled by Kirk Hinrich in the act of shooting to give Dallas a chance to tie the game with just a second left in regulation.
Ellis drained all three free throws to knot the game up and send the two teams into the first overtime.
"“It was a boneheaded play. I know better than that, so this one’s on me. Disappointed because I feel like we played a good game to that point to get back in a position to win, and for them to tie it up on a play like that, it was a bad decision. I’ve been in that situation, I’ve been around and I absolutely know better and there’s no excuse to make a play like that.”-Kirk Hinrich on his foul at the end of regulation, CSNChicago.com"
Thoughts + what’s next for the Bulls
It’s easy to blame Hinrich’s dumb foul as the reason why the Bulls lost on Tuesday night.
Sure, Hinrich’s foul was completely idiotic, but the Bulls were on the comeback trail on night. After the Mavs took a 32-30 lead with about 10 minutes left in the first half, the Bulls trailed by as much as 13 points and wouldn’t see the lead again until there was 3:39 left in the game.
Each team hit their fair share of crazy shots, but a huge difference in the game was the three-point line. Dallas hit 15(!) of their 30 attempts from long range, while the Bulls hit just eight of their 26 attempts.
The Bulls (11-7) have a quick turnaround on Wednesday night, as they travel to Charlotte for a meeting with Michael Jordan‘s new-look Charlotte Hornets (4-14).
Tip-off from Time Warner Cable Arena is scheduled for 6:00 PM CT.
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Next: Bulls Game No. 17: The Circus Trip concludes on a great note in Brooklyn