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Chicago off to East final

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-14 07:29

Marvin Williams (24) of the Atlanta Hawks battles for a rebound against Omer Asik (3) and Kyle Korver (26) of the Chicago Bulls in Game Six of the Eastern Conference semifinals in the Phillips Arena on Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin C. Cox / Agence France-Presse

Bulls advance to showdown with the Heat as league MVP Rose scores 19 points in victory

ATLANTA - Turns out, the Chicago Bulls are more than just a one-man team.

Derrick Rose sure had plenty of help in this one.

Next up: the Eastern Conference final, against Miami and the Big Three.

Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, Rose doled out 12 assists in more of a supporting role and the Bulls cruised past the Atlanta Hawks 93-73 on Thursday night, wrapping up the East semifinal in six games.

"It's huge for us to get this far," Rose said. "We're happy to get the conference finals, but we're not planning to stop right there."

The Bulls haven't been this far since 1998, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were on their way to a second three-peat. Pippen sat near the Chicago bench, relishing a new generation that's carried his old team into contention for another championship.

"When we showed up for training camp, we knew we could be special," Rose said. "We were ready to put in the work and not be concerned with statistics. We just were concerned with winning each night."

As if to prove his point, Rose took a playoff-low 14 shots and finished with 19 points, his second-lowest total of the postseason. This was a textbook performance by the guys around him, each of them comfortable in a supporting role, each of them willing to do the dirty work at the defensive end.

The most impressive number: Chicago had assists on all but seven of its 41 baskets. Or, come to think of it, maybe it was this stat: The Hawks shot just 37 percent (27 of 74) and rarely got an open look.

"If anything, our defense won this game," said Rose, who had been averaging nearly 30 points a game in the playoffs.

At the other end, Boozer kept winding up with the ball with no one around, and kept knocking down jump shots. He went 10-of-16 from the field, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out five assists.

"D-Rose gets so much attention," said Boozer, who had been bothered by a toe injury and come under criticism at home for inconsistent play. "The 15-footer was open for me. I shot it."

Luol Deng hit some big baskets early and finished with 13 points, plus five steals. Joakim Noah scored 11 and stifled the Hawks with three blocks. Omer Asik chipped in with two swats of his own. Keith Bogans made only one basket, but it was a big 3-pointer as the Bulls put it away in the third quarter.

And, boy, did everyone play some defense.

"What goes underrated about them is the depth of their team," said Atlanta's Al Horford, who had a miserable night and a tough series overall. "They just wear on you. They just kept coming, kept coming every game. It seemed like their starters were fresh."

The Bulls fell on hard times after the glorious M.J. era, including three straight 60-loss seasons. But they have put together a deep, talented team that won more games than any other during the regular season.

Yep, even more than the ballyhooed Heat, whose collection of stars runs three-deep with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who came together in south Florida knowing anything less than a title would be considered a failure.

First, they'll have to get by the Bulls.

Game 1 is on Sunday in Chicago.

"It's going to be a great matchup," Rose said. "We're fine with being considered the underdog."

Atlanta had hoped to extend this series to a Game 7, feeling the pressure would be squarely on the Bulls if it came down to a winner-take-all. But Chicago squashed those hopes right from the opening tip. The Bulls never trailed, and the lead was 10 by the end of the first quarter.

The Hawks had been in that position before. They fell behind by 15 in Game 5, then fought back to lead early in the fourth quarter. Chicago dominated down the stretch for a 13-point win, but the Bulls weren't about to cut it that close again.

With the loss, Atlanta extended an infamous playoff mark: The Hawks have never advanced past the second round since moving from St. Louis in 1968.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 19 points. Josh Smith was the only other player in double figures with 18. The Hawks went 1-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"They just got on a roll," Johnson said. "Boozer probably had his best game that he played all series ... You have him scoring and playing big like that, obviously they're going to be tough to beat."

Associated Press

(China Daily 05/14/2011 page16)