Saturday only featured one NBA Playoff game, but it was a big one. The shorthanded Chicago Bulls knocked off the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of their series to advance to the next round.
Chicago Bulls knock off Brooklyn Nets in Game 7, 99-93
Throughout the entire series, the Chicago Bulls have been playing shorthanded. They were without guard Derrick Rose for the series and also have played without Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich for the past few games. Despite all that, Chicago found a way to surge past the No. 4 seed Brooklyn Nets, winning Game 7 99-93 on the road.
Center Joakim Noah led the way for the Bulls, scoring 24 points and recording 14 rebounds – both game highs. The big surprise in the past two games, though, has been guard Marco Belinelli. Playing more minutes with the losses of Deng and Hinrich, Belinelli started Game 7 and had 24 points. Over the past two contests, he scored a total of 46 points, even though he’s averaged fewer than ten points per game this season.
Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Gerald Wallace scored 64 points in defeat, but the Nets were missing a significant contribution from one key player – Joe Johnson. Johnson averaged more than 16 points per game this season, but shot only 2-14 and scored six points on Saturday night. That included a dismal 1-9 performance from three-point range.
The Bulls took a 17-point lead into halftime, but the Nets fought back in the 3rd quarter to cut it to seven. Fortunately for Chicago, the 4th quarter was a defensive struggle with each team scoring fewer than 20 points, and they were able to hang on for the win.
The game was the Nets’ first Game 7 home game in franchise history. And the Bulls’ win gave them their first road win in a Game 7. Next up for Chicago is a series against top-seeded Miami that begins on Monday.
Battling meningitis, Deng was in the hospital. And though Hinrich warmed up, he wasn’t able to play. Playing against Brooklyn shorthanded wasn’t ideal, but the Bulls fought through it. Playing against the Heat without several key players, though, will be far more difficult. And not only will Miami be well rested, but Dwyane Wade is planning to return for Game 1 after missing the Heat’s last game with a knee injury.
