Morning Box Score: Bulls Stumble, Blackhawks Win In Big D
By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 17, 2012 2:30PM
The Blackhawks stopped a trend of slow starts to games last night thanks to Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp. Bolland and Sharp scored in the game's first two minutes and Corey Crawford made 21 saves in his first start since February as the Hawks evened their season series against the Stars. Sharp added another goal in the third period and Marian Hossa found the back of the net in the third period as Chicago improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games and tightened their hold on the sixth playoff seed in the Western Conference. If the NHL playoffs were to begin tonight, the Blackhawks would play the stars in the first round.
The Bulls win over Miami was Wednesday night was a team effort. Last night, they lost to a Portland team at the United Center that was in flux with the firing of coach Nate McMillan. Interim head coach Kaleb Canales had his team motivated from tipoff, playing an uptempo game that had the Bulls on their heels by the deciding fourth quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge led five Portland players with 21 points, while Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 22 points and 14 rebounds.