Archive for February 4th, 2010
Home “Not So” Sweet Home for Bulls & Blackhawks
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, NBA, NHL, Sports | No Comments
Chicago NBA & NHL fans were eagerly awaiting the return of the Bulls & Blackhawks to the United Center this week. Unfortunately, while each team played a game at home in front of their raucous fans, the desired outcome – a win – didn’t happen as both teams laid eggs in their home court/ice.
Coming off a 5-game winning streak on the road against teams with winning records – the 1st time a team has ever done that in NBA history – the Bulls looked lethargic in their 90-82 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night at the UC. The Bulls shot just 38% from the floor and pretty much trailed the entire game. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 18 points, while Derrick Rose chipped in 16 points. To put the loss in perspective – the Bulls were 14-7 at home during the season entering the game and the Clippers had won just 6 games all season long on the road. Not good. The Bulls get another shot at redemption at the United Center against Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
Although the Blackhawks had lost the final game of their 8-game, 5-3 road trip all over the country, the Hawks were poised to make a good showing at home and improve upon their 21-5-1 record at the UC. After taking a 1-0 1st period lead, the Hawks collapsed in the 2nd period, giving up 3 goals to the Blues in a span of 8 minutes. Marian Hossa’s 16th goal of the season brought the Blackhawks within a goal with over 15 minutes still to play in the period, but the Hawks never tallied that final goal to send the game into overtime. As usual, the Hawks outshot their opponent by a wide margin – 34-19 – but in this instance, it didn’t equate to a victory. Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season in the loss. Luckily, the Hawks only have to wait 24 hours for a shot at redemption in front of the home town crowd when they host the Phoenix Coyote on Friday night at the UC.
