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Rose scores 36, Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Rose scores 36 as Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

Two playoff games, two dramatic victories for the favored Chicago Bulls, and all is right in Carlos Boozer’s eyes.

Derrick Rose scored 36 points, Boozer added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and top-seeded Chicago escaped with another comeback victory over Indiana, beating the Pacers 96-90 on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series…

Rose went wild again, scoring eight points over the final 4 minutes. Kyle Korver, who made a tiebreaking 3-pointer in Chicago’s opening 104-99 victory Saturday, connected from long range to make it 90-85 with just over a minute left.

The Pacers still wouldn’t go away.

A.J. Price drew a foul on Rose and hit three free throws to get Indiana within two with 23.4 seconds remaining. But Luol Deng made two free throws, Mike Dunleavy missed a 3-point attempt at the other end and Ronnie Brewer hit two foul shots to help the Bulls hold on…

The Pacers were right there even though they lost Darren Collison to a sprained left ankle late in the first half. Collison said X-rays were negative but he isn’t sure if he will be available for Thursday night’s Game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse…

Granger led Indiana with 19 points, but Tyler Hansbrough struggled, finishing with just six points on 2-of-12 shooting after scoring 22 points in the opener.

Rose scores 39, Bulls beat Pacers 104-99 in Game 1

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 39 points and found Kyle Korver for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, helping top-seeded Chicago stage a late rally to beat the Pacers 104-99 in their playoff opener on Saturday.

“We knew it was going to be a hard game,” Rose said. “From the beginning I guess we weren’t prepared for it. Next time I think we’ll be ready.” …

Rose again showed why he is an MVP favorite even though he was off target. He missed each of his nine 3-point attempts but made 19 of 21 at the foul line and finished with six rebounds and six assists.

Luol Deng added 18 points and Korver finished with 13, no shot bigger than that 3…

Granger led Indiana with 24 points, and Tyler Hansbrough shook off an elbow from Kurt Thomas to finish with 22. Darren Collison scored 17, but had just two in the second half, and the Pacers came up just short in their first playoff game in five years.

2011 NBA Playoffs first round schedule

The 2010-11 NBA regular season is in the books, with all 30 teams in action Wednesday night. The NBA playoffs begin Saturday.

The first round matchups in the East are: Bulls vs Pacers, Heat vs 76ers, Celtics vs Knicks, and Magic vs Hawks.

The West’s first round matchups are: Spurs vs Grizzlies, Lakers vs Hornets, Mavericks vs Blazers, and Thunder vs Nuggets.

The complete first round series-by-series NBA playoffs schedule is here.

LeBron thinks D-Rose is MVP

Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Derrick Rose

derrick rose

Kid is ballin’

Earlier this season, James backed New York Knicks center Amar’e Stoudemire for league MVP. With a few weeks left before the playoffs, things have changed.

James said Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is his choice. Rose is generally regarded as the top candidate, with the Bulls on pace to earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Rose has kept the Bulls afloat despite injuries to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.

“I think Derrick Rose,” James said. “What he’s done for that team, with all the injuries they have and them being first in the Eastern Conference. They’re playing some really good basketball.”

James said he was leaning toward Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki until he was injured. Now, he’s in full support of Rose.

“You’ve got some guys here that have done their job also,” James said. “But Derrick Rose definitely has gotten a lot of the exposure and a lot of the media attention because of the work he’s done. He’s playing some unbelievable basketball.”

OJ Mayo happy with Grizzlies but would have been cool with trade to Bulls

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports:

OJ Mayo would have been cool with a trade to Bulls

O.J. Mayo was the focus of so many trade rumors last month, he figured he would get a new address.

And one in Chicago would have been fine with him.

“It would have been cool,” Mayo said before his Grizzlies took on the Bulls at the United Center. “I stay here in the offseason and work out with Tim Grover. But I’m happy (with the Grizzlies).”

The Bulls and Grizzlies could not agree to terms before the Feb. 24 trade deadline so the Bulls kept their roster intact, and Mayo continued in his role with Memphis.

“Scoring off the bench,” he called it.The 6-foot-4 guard entered Friday’s game having drained four of his last five 3-pointers.

“A big-time scorer,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Bulls sign John Lucas III and Jannero Pargo

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guards John Lucas III and Jannero Pargo. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contracts were not announced.

Lucas III (5-11, 165) appeared in two games with Chicago earlier this season, and averaged 1.0 ppg and 0.5 apg in 5.0 mpg.

Pargo, a 6-1, 185-pound guard, joins the Bulls for his fourth stint having played for Chicago during the 2003-06, 2009-10 seasons. A seven-year NBA veteran, Pargo played overseas in 2008-09, where he split time between the MBC Dynamo Moscow (Russian Super League) and Olympiacos B.C. (Greek League/Euroleague).

In 379 regular season contests in the NBA, Pargo has averaged 6.6 ppg, 2.0 apg and 1.5 rpg in 15.7 mpg. A .349 career shooter from behind the arc, he also owns career shooting averages of .388 from the field and .861 from the line. He has played in 35 playoff games, and posted postseason averages of 6.2 ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 rpg, 14.2 mpg, .370 from the field, .371 from behind the arc and .711 from the line.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Pacers beat red-hot Bulls

The AP reports:

Tyler Hansbrough

tyler hansbrough

Not lousy

Tyler Hansbrough had 29 points and 12 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers beat Chicago 115-108 in overtime on Friday night, snapping the Bulls’ eight-game winning streak.

Danny Granger scored 19 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers, who have won three of four.

Derrick Rose tied a career high with 42 points for the Bulls. He scored 19 in the fourth quarter and made three free throws with 1.2 seconds left to force overtime. Luol Deng added 21 points for the Bulls.

Chicago entered the game with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and could have been the first team in the East to win 50 games.

Chicago forward Carlos Boozer missed his fifth straight game with an injured left ankle.

Wizards center JaVale McGee gets 12-block triple-double in loss

The AP reports:

Even a shortage of big men couldn’t slow the Bulls’ march to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Derrick Rose scored 23 points in Chicago’s seventh straight win, a 98-79 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night that moved the Bulls into sole possession of first place in the East.

Luol Deng added 20 points and Keith Bogans scored 17, his highest total since joining the Bulls. Bogans took all of his 10 shots from behind the 3-point arc, hitting a season-high five…

Washington center JaVale McGee had a rare triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks, the most by an NBA player since Toronto’s Keon Clark had 12 on March 23, 2001.

“I had three (blocks) the first quarter and I was trying to match that in the second quarter and I had seven, so I was like I’m going to try and get 14,” McGee said. “It was working for me tonight. I was blocking so good in the first half people were starting to hesitate and were more afraid to go up and it was easier to block shots.”

Dwyane Wade awarded custody of sons

Kristen Mack of the Chicago Tribune reports:

NBA star Dwyane Wade was awarded sole custody of his two young sons after a bitter battle with his ex-wife, lawyers in the case said today.

“I am very thankful that the court has given me custody of my boys and they are already at home with me in Miami and settling in,” the Miami Heat guard said in a statement. “Going through a custody trial was difficult and I wish it hadn’t been necessary, but, I felt it was the only way that I could continue to play an active part of my kids’ lives and provide them with a happy and stable home. My hope is that their mother will also choose to play a healthy role in their lives and we can all move on from this in a positive way.”

Cook County Circuit Judge Renee Goldfarb issued a detailed 102-page ruling late Friday…

Goldfarb’s ruling is meticulous, down to who will have custody of the children on holidays, All-Star Weekend and if the Miami Heat are in the NBA finals. The transition of the children, ages 3 and 8, from Illinois to Florida will occur immediately, according to the judge’s ruling. There will be a 30-day period of adjustment so they can acclimate to their new school and surroundings.

Siohvaughn Wade will fly to Miami every other weekend to spend time with her children, with the exception of a few holidays during which the boys will come to Illinois. For the time being the cost of her trips, including “reasonable” airfare and lodging, will be covered by Dwyane Wade.

Carlos Boozer day-to-day with ankle sprain

The AP reports:

Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer is day-to-day with a sprained left ankle and could be out for as much as a week.

Coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday that the power forward could be out “anywhere from a couple days to a week” after he was injured in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s 101-84 win at Charlotte.

Boozer was going for a layup when he was knocked to the floor on a flagrant foul by Kwame Brown. His leg bent awkwardly, his ankle twisting, and he limped off the court.

X-rays and an MRI confirmed the extent of the injury.

“It was a hard foul, but that’s part of it,” Thibodeau said. “You just have to move on, get ready for the next game.”