Chicago Bulls Blog – Page 98 – NBA Blog

Injuries strike Bulls

Getting injured is lousy. No one knows this better than me. Had it not been for that cold I got in 8th grade that made me blow my nose a lot for several days in a row, I’m positive I’d have been a far greater basketball player than Kobe Bryant.

But seriously, it’s hard to win in the NBA without several of your top stars, and that’s what the Chicago Bulls (16 wins, 21 losses) have been trying to do.

The Chicago Sun-Times (Brian Hanley) reports:

The Bulls have been without their captains — Drew Gooden, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich — for sustained stretches. Deng has missed the last eight games with a sprained ankle and might be back tonight, when the Bulls host Portland. Hinrich (thumb surgery) has targeted Thursday against Cleveland as a possible return date. Gooden, who has posted double-doubles in all three games since an eight-game absence because of a sprained ankle, said there was no need for a players-only vent session. ”It’s no time right now to press a panic button where we need to have a mandatory meeting and stuff like that,” he said. ”Guys know what they need to do. Any time a meeting needs to be called, it will be called.” Coach Vinny Del Negro said the players need to take more ownership of the team.

Just one game out of the 8th Eastern conference playoff spot, there’s plenty of time left in the NBA season for Chicago to improve themselves. It’ll mostly have to come from the big guys, as solid but unspectacular Drew Gooden (13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds per game, not much else) has been the lone consistent contributor.

–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner

Thunder pull out 109-98 OT win over Bulls

The AP reports: Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Nick Collison added a season-high 21, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 109-98 in overtime Saturday night… Trailing by seven midway through the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City had a chance to win it at the end of regulation. But with the score tied at 94, Durant a missed jumper from the top of the key, and Russell Westbrook missed a tip-in try… Chicago got 22 points from Ben Gordon, and 20 from Drew Gooden, who also had 12 rebounds. That gave him three straight double-doubles after missing eight games with a sprained ankle.

Gordon, Bulls beat Washington 98-86

The AP reports: Larry Hughes scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Ben Gordon had 22 and the Bulls hung on for a 98-86 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday after watching a 21-point lead dwindle to seven in the fourth quarter… Hughes got booed when he entered the game late in the first quarter and seemed to hear it after every miss in the second and third, but his late flurry helped hold off the Wizards. He even heard a few cheers in the latter stages, but not many… Tyrus Thomas added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Drew Gooden scored 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds—his second straight double-double after missing eight games with a sprained ankle… Jamison scored just 12 after pouring in a season-high 32 points in Wednesday’s six-point loss to Toronto, and Caron Butler finished with two while shooting 1-for-8.

Bulls hang on to beat Kings 99-94

The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 24 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Sacramento Kings 99-94 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. The Bulls converted 33 of 36 free throws, but the three they missed nearly cost them. After making its first 29, Chicago converted just four of its final seven, allowing Sacramento to stay in the game. Drew Gooden had two of the misses, nearly spoiling a big return in which he had 18 points and 10 rebounds after being sidelined for eight games with a sprained right ankle… Kevin Martin had another strong outing for the Kings after scoring 36 against New Jersey on Monday and 45 against Indiana two days earlier, and Miller finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. But the Bulls prevailed thanks to Gordon, Gooden and solid outings by Rose (16 points and eight assists) and Thomas (14).

Wolves beat Bulls 102-92 for 2nd straight win

The AP reports: The Minnesota Timberwolves celebrated their first winning streak of the season—at the Chicago Bulls’ expense. Randy Foye scored 21 points, Al Jefferson added 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Minnesota won consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Chicago 102-92 on Saturday night… Derrick Rose finished with 22 points, and Tyrus Thomas had 15 points, seven rebounds and eight blocked shots for Chicago, which has lost six of its last seven games. Ryan Gomes finished with 19 points for Minnesota, which has won four of its last six games. The Wolves had 28 second-chance points to the Bulls’ eight… Kevin Love had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Lewis leads Magic over Bulls, 113-94

The AP reports: The way he’s pouring in the points, Rashard Lewis just might shoot his way into the All-Star game. Lewis set the tone by scoring 16 of his 21 points in the first half and the Orlando Magic rolled over the Chicago Bulls 113-94 for their eighth win in nine games… Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points. Dwight Howard scored 15, and the Southeast Division leaders came through with a dominant performance after their seven-game win streak ended in a six-point loss at Detroit on Monday… Joakim Noah came through with a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Larry Hughes scored 15 and Ben Gordon 18, but Chicago shot just 42 percent. Derrick Rose had a rough afternoon finishing with just 11 points and no assists.

Rose, Bulls drop Nets to 5-12 in New Jersey

The AP reports: Derrick Rose doesn’t remember what he was doing on April 17, 2001. “I was in grammar school, probably in the sixth grade,” Rose said after leading the Chicago Bulls to their first victory in New Jersey since that date, 100-87 over the Nets on Monday night. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft had 21 points and a season-high 13 assists, while Ben Gordon scored 24 points… The Nets continued their poor play at home, falling to 5-12, the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference. The Nets (15-16) are 10-4 on the road… Andres Nocioni and Larry Hughes each added 17 points for the Bulls (14-17), who won for only the fourth time in 18 road games this season. It was Chicago’s first win in New Jersey since 2001, snapping a 13-game losing streak. Carter scored 31 points and Devin Harris added 26, 18 in the second half.

Dec 27: Hawks 129, Bulls 117

The AP reports: After holding 14 of their last 15 opponents under 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks expected a low-scoring game against Chicago. When that plan failed, the Hawks seemed to enjoy a rare opportunity to change their style. Joe Johnson scored a season-high 41 points, Josh Smith also set a season high with 24, and the Hawks withstood Ben Gordon’s 3-point barrage to beat the Bulls 129-117 on Saturday night. The Bulls lost despite shooting 54.4 percent from the field and matching their scoring high for the season only one night after a 90-77 loss at Miami… Ben Gordon scored 33 points and was 6-of-8 behind the arc to pass Scottie Pippen and become the Bulls’ career leader in 3-pointers. Rookie Derrick Rose added a career-high 27 points.

Dec 26: Heat 90, Bulls 77

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, Daequan Cook hit three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away, and the Heat eclipsed last season’s win total by dominating the second half and beating the Bulls 90-77 on Friday. Mario Chalmers had 16 points and six assists while Beasley—the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, after the Bulls chose Derrick Rose—scored eight of his 14 in the fourth for Miami (16-12), which won its fourth straight and surpassed the dismal 15-67 mark of a season ago… Ben Gordon had 15 points for the Bulls, who shot just 37 percent. Larry Hughes scored 13 for Chicago and Derrick Rose finished with only 10 on 3-for-14 shooting… Udonis Haslem tied a season-high with 14 rebounds, while Cook scored 12 points for the Heat. Aaron Gray had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Chicago lost forward Luol Deng to a sprained left ankle with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

A Spike Lee Jordan documentary?

Big-time basketball documentaries that get national attention don’t come out too often. When they do, I make sure to watch. Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot, on HS ballers, was very good. So was Through the Fire, the Sebastian Telfair one. The Year of Yao, on Yao Ming, wasn’t quite as good, but still at least worth the time to watch.

But if the following item actually materializes, myself and everyone who loves basketball would definitely catch it. The New York Post (Page 6) reports:

Spike Lee has found his next muse. The director was overheard “discussing his upcoming project, a documentary on the life of Michael Jordan,” during a birthday dinner for Aymeric Clemente at West 13th Street eatery Bagatelle the other night.

That’s a gossip page, which means the info isn’t set in stone. Page 6 is one of the most proven gossip pages around, but it’s still just a rumor until proven otherwise.

I hope it happens.