Schuster: Rose Torches Atlanta
Before game 3 Jamal Crawford said that the Hawks had taken the Bulls best shot and were optimistic. Best shot my foot. He wasn't saying any such thing after the game as he and his team mates were torched early and often by Derrick Rose.
Rose stepped his game up into over drive and scored a career high 44 points as the Bulls cruised 99-82. You could tell right from the opening tip that the league's MVP was going to attack. In fact his first 4 possessions he went right to the rim and scored with ease. By the end of the opening quarter Rose had 17 points and the Hawks were never close after that.
The Bulls point guard kept it up throughout as he had 21 points at the half and continued to pour it on after intermission. If Rose was trying to make a statement, consider it delivered. He ended up making 16 of his 27 shots and for good measure added 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
On any other night the Bulls bench would have gotten top billing as they contributed 34 points. Taj Gibson had 13 points and 11 rebounds and and Kyle Korver tacked on 11 points.
Joakim Noah only scored 2 points but hauled down 15 rebounds and displayed his normal manic energy. But Rose outdid everybody and had the visiting crowd chanting MVP MVP MVP.
With the win the Bulls now lead the series 2 game to 1 with game 4 coming up on Sunday night.
