Bulls Take Game 1, But May Have Lost Rose Again
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 28, 2012 9:00PM
The Bulls began their quest for an NBA title at the United Center Saturday afternoon, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers in game one of the opening round. When the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls grabbed a 1-0 series lead after defending their home court with a 103-91 win. But the win may have come at a big cost, as Derrick Rose injured his knee with less than two minutes to play.
The Bulls jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and never looked back. While Rose was cold to begin the game, the rest of the Bulls shot lights out and grabbed a 53-42 halftime lead behind Rip Hamilton's 13 first half points. Philly cut the Bulls lead to five on a couple of occasions, but the Bulls countered each time to extend the lead back to double digits. Hamilton finished with 19 points on 6-7 shooting, while Luol Deng added 17. Joakim Noah grabbed 13 board to go along with 12 points. Former Bull Elton Brand paced the Sixers with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jrue Holiday added 16 for Philly.
Rose was able to shake off the early rust and heated up after his slow start to score 23 points on 9 of 23 from the floor, along with 9 rebounds and 9 assists. But Rose twisted his left knee on a drive with less than two minutes to play and crumpled to the court, unable to stand afterward. After being checked by the Bulls' training staff on the floor, Rose was helped to the locker room in obvious pain. While no announcement has been made yet to the extent of Rose's injury, it does not look good. In his postgame press conference, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gave little additional information about Rose's condition.
Even after the Bulls won the game, the United Center remained funeral silent. The tone of the playoffs have changed dramatically with the potential loss of Rose. While the Bulls excelled all season in the wake of countless injuries, and managed a 17-9 record during Rose's various regular season absences, the playoffs are a different beast. Even if the Bulls can move past the Sixers, the expectations for a shot at a title run may have disappeared in an instant just one game into the postseason.
Deadspin has a video of the game's final minutes on YouTube. We just cringed watching this, so you've been warned: