On Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls forced a Game 7 with the Brooklyn Nets. Meanwhile, Golden State pulled off the biggest upset to date with a series win over Denver. Here’s a recap of the night’s action.
Nets defeat Bulls 95-92 in Game 6
After falling behind 3-1 in their series against Chicago, Brooklyn has now won two in a row to force a Game 7 after a 95-92 win on the road. The final game will be played on Saturday in Brooklyn and the winner gets the right to face the Miami Heat.
For Chicago, the storyline has been the ability to find a way to compete despite injuries. Previously without star guard Derrick Rose, Chicago was also missing Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich on Thursday. Despite that, they hung in the game until the very end.
The Nets’ trio of stars, Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson, each scored 17 points. Starting forward Gerald Wallace added 15 and while Reggie Evans only scored two points, he piled up a game-high 15 rebounds.
Despite the strong effort from Brooklyn’s starters, though, the clear difference in the game was the bench. Chicago’s starters also played extremely well as everyone scored at least 14 points, but their backups couldn’t produce. The Nets’ reserves contributed 27 points and 16 rebounds, led by Andray Blatche’s ten points and seven boards. Playing with a depleted roster, Chicago’s bench had a grand total of seven points and four rebounds.
Even without the lack of bench play, Chicago still nearly won the game. The teams traded baskets late and Marco Belinelli missed a three-pointer with only a few seconds remaining. The Nets controlled a jump ball and hung on for the victory.
Warriors knock off third-seeded Nuggets with 92-88 win
The Golden State Warriors provided the biggest series upset to date this season by defeating the No. 3 seed, the Denver Nuggets, 92-88. The Warriors will now advance to face the San Antonio Spurs.
Golden State got their usual great game by guard Stephen Curry, who had 22 points and eight assists, but their best player on Thursday was easily center Andrew Bogut. Bogut, who has suffered some injuries this season, stepped up and had arguably his biggest game of the year with 14 points, 21 rebounds (both career playoff highs), and four blocks.
Only two players off the Warriors’ bench contributed much of anything, but they both came through in a big way. Rookie Draymond Green, who averaged less than three points per game this year, had 16 points and ten rebounds. Jarrett Jack didn’t play as well as he had in the rest of the series, making only two of his ten attempts, but he added 13 points.
Denver was led by Andre Iguodala, who provided 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Nuggets coach George Karl blamed himself after the game, but what really ended the series for Denver was poor shooting. The team made less than 35% of their shots, buoyed by a 6-25 performance by the bench. Had Denver shot even marginally, the series would be headed to a Game 7. Instead, Golden State moves on to face San Antonio in Game 1 on Monday.
One storyline to watch is the return of David Lee. After announcing that Lee would be out for the remainder of the playoffs, Golden State head coach Mark Jackson surprised everyone by putting him in for a minute in the game. Lee suffered a hip injury and was expected to be out until next season. Whether he returns to play significant minutes in the Spurs series is anybody’s guess, but if he does, the Warriors’ strong team could get even better.
