Bulls 101-93 Win Over Celtics Overshadowed by Paxson-Del Negro Melee
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 | Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, New York Knicks, Sports
The Chicago Bulls kept their playoffs hopes alive with a big 101-93 win over the Boston Celtics at the United Center on Tuesday night. But most people weren’t talking about the win after the game – they were talking about the “alleged” rumble between Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson (the former club GM who hired Del Negro to a 3-year deal 2 years ago). Supposedly Paxson and team management have been dismayed with Del Negro’s use of Joakim Noah down the stretch. The team has placed a “minutes-limit” on Noah to avoid further damage to his injured foot. Supposedly Paxson confronted Del Negro after the March 30th game against the Phoenix Suns in which Del Negro played Noah “too many” minutes. Allegedly, Paxson grabbed Del Negro’s tie and tried to provoke him with 2 jabs to the chest. Del Negro did not retaliate at all and assistance coach Bernie Bickerstaff had to step in to pull Paxson away. Del Negro has said that he will not comment on the confrontation and Paxson has not been able to be reached for comment. More craziness as the Bulls continue to fight for a playoff spot
Back to the game — the Bulls didn’t let a deficit heading into the 4th quarter get them down. Instead, the Bulls grabbed “themselves by the horn” as they outscored the Celtics 34-35 in the final period to win easily. Derrick Rose put forth a career night to lead his team to victory – 39 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Joakim Noah turned in another amazing performance – 9 points and 16 rebounds – and he logged the most minutes (46) since returning from his foot injury. Kirk Hinrich knocked in 30 points – a season high for the veteran guard, while Luol Deng chipped in 7 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The win kept the Bulls a full game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. If the Bulls defeat the Bobcats in Charlotte tonight, they’re in. If the Bulls lose, but the Raptors lose to the Knicks at home, then they’re also in. A Bulls loss, coupled with a Raptors win catapults Toronto into the playoffs to face the Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stay tuned Bulls fans — it should be a fun night indeed…
1 Comment to Bulls 101-93 Win Over Celtics Overshadowed by Paxson-Del Negro Melee
[...] to the team for ignoring the turmoil between their head coach Vinny Del Negro and the club’s VP of basketball …. At the end of the day, it comes down to winning and that’s just what the team did in a [...]
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04/15/2010