Road to Glory II

[Cruzerr]

A total different team from the first one

[[Hyperize]]

Easy work Gordon wasn't afraid to chuck em up

[Justine.]

Vintage play right there by White Chocolate. Great win man, finish them on the next 3 home games

[Bulls#1]

Hope you can win Game 3 as well! Good luck!

[Martti.]

Aww yeah, get that weak stuff outta here!

With 3 straight at the UC, you can close it out. NO ratings are crazy..

[Bulls#1]

LOL Korver is now a good defender!

[Valor]

Nice Job destroying the hornets

Hope you can win Game 3 as well! Good luck!

Cheers man!

A total different team from the first one

Definitely, a lot more energy on defense and on the boards, lovin it

Easy work Gordon wasn't afraid to chuck em up

He's a shooter! That's what they do man, sometimes they drop sometimes they don't

Vintage play right there by White Chocolate. Great win man, finish them on the next 3 home games

Yeh man, White Chocolate at his best! Hopefully I'll be able to finish them off at home, this team isn't too shabby on the road

Aww yeah, get that weak stuff outta here!

LOL Korver is now a good defender!

Kyle Korver doing his thing

With 3 straight at the UC, you can close it out. NO ratings are crazy..

Inflated ratings from 2K10, I think like 1/3 of the league is above 90s in ratings

[Bulls#1]

Im excited for Game 3!

[Valor]

Im excited for Game 3!

Thanks man, I'll have to find sometime to play it soon lol

[Bulls#1]

LOL I guess life is busy now man don't worry Ill wait for it!

[Cruzerr]

Nice to see you back though Valor, how has it been going for you?

[hova-]

Great defense, forcing bad shots and swatting away some of them. Grab that win at home and finish them off.

[Valor]

Bulls supporting cast steps up as Chicago takes 2-1 series lead

The Ageless Shaq once again delivers when he’s needed the most

Chicago, IL – Taking a page out of Chicago’s book, the Hornets looked to hound the Bulls go-to-guy – Derrick Rose - on the floor and stagnate the Chicago offense.

Unfortunately for them, the rest of the Bulls made them pay.

Despite Rose missing 14 of his 24 shots and turning the ball over 4 times as a result of the Hornets defense, the Bulls’ supporting cast stepped up their game from start to finish and helped lead the Bulls to a 102-86 game 3 victory for a 2 to 1 series lead in these 2012 NBA Finals against the New Orleans Hornets.

Rose still finished with a game high 24 points alongside 5 rebounds and 10 assists, but it was the play of his teammates that made the difference in the ball game.

Veteran center Shaquille O’Neal once again was brilliant off the bench, providing the Bulls with 19 points and 7 rebounds on a very efficient 9 for 13 shooting from the field; while forwards Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer finally found their scoring touch, as Deng finished with 17 point on 8-12 and Booze dropped in 11 and 7 of his own.

If any indication, Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich’s 28 foot jumper to beat the shot clock in the middle of the first quarter should’ve been a warning of what was to come. Too bad for the Hornets, there was nothing they could’ve done. Hinrich would have one of his better shooting nights of the playoffs, as he went 3 for 6 for 7 points, while Kyle Korver knocked in all 3 of his three-point attempts for 9 points off the bench.

“I played pretty bad but it’s a team game and the guys just did a great job picking me up tonight” Rose said, “Now we just need to keep it up and finish the job”

Despite making adjustments in trying to get more people involved and getting the ball inside, the Hornets still found no answers for the pesky Bulls defense, as they once again struggled scoring the basketball.

Chris Paul once again was terrible from the field, hitting just 3 shots and finishing with 11 points. He did have 13 assists and just 1 turnover, but was clearly not himself for much of the 30 minutes that he played in.

Ben Gordon led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game as he finished with 20 points, but was 8 for 23 from the field; and while the Hornets frontcourt of West, Harrington, and Okafor got it going (17, 13, and 10 respectively), the Bulls did a good job of denying the entry pass, trapping, and forcing them to dish the ball back out to the perimeter.

“We can’t score if we can’t get the ball” said Okafor, who was a perfect 5-5 from the field, “They played great defense as usual but we gotta figure it out as a team if we are going to stay alive in this series.”

Both game 4 and 5 will still be here at the United Center following the Finals’ 2-3-2 format. Game 4 will be on Saturday night where the Hornets will look to avoid a 1-3 deficit. No team in Finals history has ever rallied back from being down 1-3 to win the title.






Highlights




Player of the Game Highlights

[Valor]

LOL I guess life is busy now man don't worry Ill wait for it!

Haha it's up! Enjoy

Nice to see you back though Valor, how has it been going for you?

Cheers man! It's been alright just really busy with studies

Great defense, forcing bad shots and swatting away some of them. Grab that win at home and finish them off.

Thanks Hov, hope to keep this D up during the rest of my home-stand and win it all in Chicago

[Lamrock]

Nice win man. Good to see you on your way to getting closure with this.

[[Hyperize]]

What a luxury having Shaq come off the bench. Probably more effective than both Boozer and Noah in 2k10 he's so damn big

[Bulls#1]

Oh yeah nice win for my bulls!

[Cruzerr]

The size of Shaq is just...wow. Not to mention having Rose dominating everybody. Great win, you still need 2 more though, no giving up yet

[Valor]

Nice win man. Good to see you on your way to getting closure with this.

Cheers buddy, it's been a long ride with this one and its good to finally wrapping things up

What a luxury having Shaq come off the bench. Probably more effective than both Boozer and Noah in 2k10 he's so damn big

Indeed, if it wasn't for the lack of stamina I'd opt to play Shaq as a starter and I don't doubt that he'll be able to average 20-10 for me

Oh yeah nice win for my bulls!

We're aiming to win it all

The size of Shaq is just...wow. Not to mention having Rose dominating everybody. Great win, you still need 2 more though, no giving up yet

It's up and down for the rest of the crew though, hopefully I can milk a bit more production out of Deng and Hinrich

[Bulls#1]

Good luck to the next game man

[Valor]

Good luck to the next game man

Thanks man Recap coming soon!

[Valor]

Gordon lands final blow as Hornets overcome Bulls comeback; series at 2-2

Ben Gordon knocks down the game winning basket at the buzzer to even up the series

Chicago, IL – There was a point in time when Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon fought side by side in the Bulls backcourt in numerous playoff battles.

Things have changed a little bit since then.

In a memorable duel between the two former/current Bulls guards, it was the now-Hornet Ben Gordon who came on top, knocking down the last 2 of his team-high 28 points, a 19 foot jumper on the baseline with Hinrich’s outstretched hand in his face as time expired, and gave his New Orleans Hornets team a 103-102 victory to even these Finals to two games apiece.

Just a few seconds prior, Hinrich had given the Bulls a one point lead with a 2.7 seconds remaining on the clock. Having finally broken free from his shooting slump, the former Bulls captain had a game high 29 points and 5 assists, missing just 2 shots for the game (12-14 FG). However, it wouldn’t be enough as his former teammate’s heroics prevented his Chicago Bulls to go up 3-1 in these 2012 NBA Finals.

“Ben’s a great, great shooter” said Hinrich, “I did all I could defensively, he just made an incredible shot there”

It was a reminisces of game 1 as the Hornets got out to a good start, blowing the game open to as many as a 20 point lead, but resilient as always, the Bulls fought back and tied it with 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

From then on it was back and forth.

Adjustments were finally made by the Hornets offense, as Chris Paul noted the defensive strategies used on him and attacked the basket aggressively, drawing fouls and getting to the line while also dishing it to the open man. He would finish with 16 points and a game high 16 assists, having only had 8 field goal attempts (10-10 from the free throw line).

For the Bulls, Derrick Rose was once again his usual spectacular self, as he finished with 27 points, but did have 3 turnovers as the Hornets D pressured him constantly. Deng added 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Shaq added 10 points, but just 2 rebounds.

“I think that’s why we lost to be honest” said O’Neal, “we got killed on the glass for once. All due respect to Ben Gordon’s shot, cause it was a good shot, we lost ‘cause we didn’t get the boards”

The Bulls as a team only grabbed 25 rebounds, compared to the 36 pulled down by the Hornets. In the previous 3 games, Chicago averaged just over 42 boards per contest.

The Finals are now all tied up at 2 games apiece, Game 5 will take place here in Chicago on Monday night, while Game 6, now necessary, will be shifted back to New Orleans.






Highlights




Hinrich’s go-ahead basket


Player of the Game Highlights

[Cruzerr]

These playoff series, wow. You wanted more out of Hinrich, you got it

[Bulls#1]

Wow the Hornets don't want to lose easily!

[Valor]

Jason Williams sprains ankle, deactivated for Game 5
June 10th, 2012


Chicago Bulls backup point guard Jason Williams suffered an ankle injury
during practice earlier today and is listed as doubtful for game 5 of the Bulls-Hornets
Finals series tomorrow evening.

The 36 year old veteran guard averaged 0.9 points and 1.6 assists over 46 games for
the Bulls this season, coming off the bench occasionally to provide spot minutes when
foul troubles plague the Bulls backcourt.

Known for his flashy plays and crafty ballhanding skills, Williams won an NBA championship
with the Miami Heat in 2006 while spending most of his glory days with the Sacramento
Kings and the Memphis Grizzlies. He has career averages of 9.7 points and 5.6 assists
per game.

The 13th year veteran was set to retire following this season.

The Bulls have placed him onto the Injured Reserve list and activated sophomore guard
Jeremy Lin in his place.