Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:
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The Bulls will open their second-round series Monday against the winner of the Orlando Magic-Atlanta Hawks series, which is headed to Game 6 on Thursday in Atlanta after the Magic’s 101-76 victory at home Tuesday. The Hawks lead the series 3-2.
‘‘I’m speechless right now,’’ Rose, who played only 30 minutes because of foul trouble, not his ankle, said after winning an NBA playoff series for the first time. ‘‘I really can’t believe it. It’s a great accomplishment. We’re going to try to keep this thing going.’’
Coach Tom Thibodeau knew this was a moment for his players.
‘‘It’s always good to advance,’’ he said. ‘‘It doesn’t mean a lot to me as coach.’’
Still, he seemed pleased that the Bulls had delivered a solid knockout punch in Game 5 after four tough encounters.
‘‘We knew we were capable of playing better,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘There were things we had to correct, but we were also up 3-1. In the playoffs, every win is hard to get. I liked our mentality today.’’