Carlos Boozer led the way with 18 points, and the Bulls cruised to an easy 90-67 win over the Hornets in New Orleans Wednesday night.
Derrick Rose felt well enough to play with his back spasms, but he wasn't really needed. He played 22:22 and only attempted five shots, finishing the night with 6 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
The starters got plenty of rest in this one, with only Luol Deng (34:14) playing over 29 minutes. Joakim Noah posted yet another very efficient double-double with 13 points (6/7 FG) and 10 rebounds. Taj Gibson (14 pts, 8 reb) and Kyle Korver (12 points) were the only other Bulls in double figures, as this truly was a team offensive effort as the Bulls recorded 29 assists on 39 made shots.
This game was never in doubt- the Hornets never led, and the Bulls' biggest lead was 28. Every starter scored in the first 6 1/2 minutes as the Bulls jumped to a 15-4 lead and the Hornets never really put up a challenge.
The Bulls pushed the lead to 23-10 before Chris Kaman scored the last four points of the first quarter, cutting the lead to nine. But Omer Asik scored four points in an 8-2 Bulls run to start the 2nd quarter, and the Hornets never got the lead under 10 the rest of the night.
The Bulls pushed the lead to 44-31 at halftime, and they then held New Orleans to 25% (6/24) shooting in the third quarter to put the game away. Deng was the only starter to see any 4th quarter action, and even he sat down for good at the first timeout of the period.
There isn't much you can take away from this game, the best news was that nobody got hurt. The only "bad" was that CJ Watson struggled mightily with his shot, making only 1/10 overall and missing all three of his attempts from behind the arc. He also committed four of the Bulls 12 turnovers, but if you are going to have a lousy game, a 23-point blowout win is the time to do it.
I apologize for the lack of Bullsville Radio Highlights tonight, with my computer being down it wasn't possible. But really you aren't missing much, this wasn't a game as much as a glorified scrimmage for the Bulls, who go from playing the worst team in the West tonight to facing the worst team in the league (3-22 Charlotte) on Friday.
Filed under: Game Recaps
Tags: carlos boozer, chicago bulls, chris kaman, cj watson, derrick rose, joakim noah, kyle korver, luol deng, new orleans hornets, taj gibson
Aquinas wired
2 weeks, 2 days ago