With the Bulls win over the Suns on Saturday night, they accomplished 2 first for the 2008-9 NBA season. It marked the 1st time the Bulls had won 3 games in a row this season, and the 1st time the Bulls had won 3 games in a row on the road this season. Pretty sad, given the fact that the Bulls have already played 48 games. Just when you think they are left for dead after a 5-game losing streak, the Bulls have won 3 games in a row and still sit just 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. As crazy as it sounds, the Bulls are only 5 games behind each of the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons for the 5th and 6th seeds in the Eastern Conference, and they still have several games left against each of those teams. Wouldn’t it be a great story if the Bulls do continue to play well and find themselves in the mix for a spot in the playoffs during the last few weeks of the season. It sure would, but let’s not get too crazy right now.
My prediction – the Bulls lose the last 3 games of the road trip – - Houston, New Orleans and Dallas; fall back to 9 games under .500; and we go back to talking about the Bulls chances of getting another lottery pick.
Now for the game. The Bulls led by 4 points after the 1st quarter, and still held a 3-point lead through the game’s first 36 minutes. And instead of collapsing like they have done so often this season, the Bulls used a 36-28 4th quarter edge to pull away to the 122-111 victory. Seven Bulls players scored in double-digits – led by Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose who each scored 26 points. Gordon also added 6 assists, while Rose grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Tyrus Thomas scored 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, while Joakim Noah chipped in with 8 rebounds. Luol Deng rounded out the good starts from the starters with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Off the bench, Kirk Hinrich (15 points and 6 assists), Andres Nocioni (11 points), and Tabo Sefolosha (11 points and 8 rebounds) all put forth solid efforts.
The Suns also had players turn in great performances. Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 32 points on 11 of 17 shooting from the floor. Steve Nash had 15 points and 10 assists; Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points and 8 rebounds; and Grant Hill added 19 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
Both teams shot over 50% from the floor, with the Bulls shooting 47% from 3-point range and the Suns shooting 36% from 3-point range.
The Chicago Blackhawks did something only 1 other NHL team had done this season – beat the Sharks at home during regulation. On Saturday night, the Blackhawks topped the Sharks 4-2 at the HP Pavilion, knocking the Sharks home record down to 23-2-2 in 25 games. The teams traded 1st period goals – Jonathan Toews’ 15th goal of the season gave the Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead. During the 2nd period, the Blackhawks built a 3-1 lead on a short-handed goal by Kris Versteeg (his 14th goal of the season) and a power play goal by Jonathan Toews (pushing him up to 16 goals on the season). Duncan Keith’s 6th goal of the season gave the Blackhawks a commanding 4-1 lead in the 3rd period, and the Blackhawks withstood a 34-shot barrage by the Sharks to pull off the win. Nikolai Khabibulin improved his record to 15-4-5. It was the Blackhawks first win in 6 years in San Jose.
The win earned the Blackhawks a trip to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl and “relax” in Sin City before the team resumes its 8-game road trip. The Blackhawks still have 5 games left to play with the next game occurring on Tuesday night in Edmonton. Going into the Sharks game, the Blackhawks had gone winless in 6 games against the Western Conference’s top 2 teams – Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks now have 27 wins and 62 points, which is tied for the 7th most points in the NHL with the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens.
