The Morning After: Bulls And Blackhawks Fall

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 31, 2010 3:00PM

Bulls Burned By Suns
Derrick Rose predicted the Bulls would make the playoffs where they would play doormat to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs. Those hopes took a shot last night when the Bulls hung tough but got burnt by the Phoenix Suns 111-105. Despite falling behind by double-digits in the first quarter, the Bulls fought back to take a halftime lead and a back-and-forth affair ensued in the second half. The Bulls actually led by four with under five minutes to play, but Phoenix hit clutch shots to finish the game on an 18-8 run and slide past the Bulls. Derrick Rose had 23 points to lead the Bulls' starters, but the bench also put in a great effort with 23 points from Ronald Murray, a 12-10 from Joakim Noah, and 12 points from Jannero Pargo. The Bulls are 1.5 games back of Toronto for that final playoff spot with eight games left to play. Next up is a trip to DC on Friday to take on the Wizards (6 p.m., CSN).

Blackhawks' Slump Continues
The Blackhawks lost their third straight game and their seventh out of their last nine, falling to the St. Louis Blues 4-2. Patrick Sharp opened scoring to give the 'Hawks a 1-0 lead and after St. Louis got the equalizer, Marian Hossa scored to give the 'Hawks a 2-1 heading into the first intermission. But it was all Blues from there as they scored three goals over the next two periods, all on Antti Niemi (who also had 26 saves). To hear them talk, though, the 'Hawks aren't fazed. Said Sharp after the game, "It might sound stupid to someone on the outside looking in to say we're confident, but we are. We're going to keep battling." In spite of the slide, the 'Hawks remain in second place in the Western Conference and hope to pull out of the tailspin when they visit the Minnesota Wild tonight (7 p.m., CSN/VS).

Spring Training
Mark Buehrle gave the Sox something to smile about as he pitched five shutout innings to lead the team past the A's 2-0. An eighth inning homer from Chad Tracy broke a tie and gave the Cubs a 5-3 win over the Giants.