CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in just 24 minutes as the Chicago Bulls took a step closer to wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 100-68 rout of the dreadful Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Hamilton made his first seven shots from the field, including four from beyond the arc and the outcome was never in doubt.

Despite playing without leading scorers Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the floor and connected on 9 of 19 shots from 3-point range to bounce back from Tuesday night’s surprising 87-84 loss to the Washington Wizards.

The Bulls had struggled of late losing four of their last eight coming in, but they still have the NBA’s best record at 47-15 with four games remaining in the regular season.

Kemba Walker scored 16 points for the Bobcats, who’ve lost a franchise-record 18 straight games. If the Bobcats lose their final five games they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

Omer Asik had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, while Joakim Noah and John Lucas each scored 12 points.

The Bulls shot 55 percent in the first half and led by 19 in the second quarter.

Charlotte continued to struggle putting the ball in the basket.

For the second straight game they shot just 30 percent from the field.

Meanwhile, the Bulls seemed to score at will from both inside and outside as well as in transition.

The Bulls extended the lead to 24 in the third quarter behind 10 points from Hamilton. Hamilton seemed to take the Bulls on his shoulders, finishing the night 9 for 13 from the field, including 4 for 5 on 3s.

The Bobcats’ night, and perhaps the season, could be best summed up in one embarrassing play when Matt Carroll had a breakaway layup but put if off the glass too strong and Byron Mullens, who seemed to be in position for a follow-up dunk, had the ball bounce off his hands and out of bounds for a turnover.

The crowed let out a collective “Ugh!” as Carroll clapped his hands together in disbelief.

NOTES: Tyrus Thomas, who was involved in a postgame locker room altercation with coach Paul Silas earlier this week, left the game with a sore right knee. He spent most of the first half riding a stationary bike trying to get it loose and only played three minutes. … Charlotte’s last win came on March 17.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in just 24 minutes as the Chicago Bulls took a step closer to wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 100-68 rout of the dreadful Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Hamilton made his first seven shots from the field, including four from beyond the arc and the outcome was never in doubt.

Despite playing without leading scorers Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the floor and connected on 9 of 19 shots from 3-point range to bounce back from Tuesday night’s surprising 87-84 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Kemba Walker scored 16 points for the Bobcats, who’ve lost a franchise-record 18 straight games. If the Bobcats lose their final five games they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

Having all but locked up the top seed throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Chicago Bulls’ biggest priority leading up to the postseason is Derrick Rose getting the rust off his shot.

Despite that significant issue, the Bulls seemingly should have little trouble beating the Detroit Pistons considering what they accomplished last time out.

Chicago looks to build on an emotional victory and win its 15th straight over the Pistons on Sunday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Rose was a game-time decision for Thursday’s highly anticipated showdown with Miami after sitting out Tuesday’s win over New York with a sprained right ankle. While the league MVP started and claimed his ankle didn’t bother him, he was extremely ineffective.

Rose missed 12 of 13 shots and the Bulls (45-14) were outscored by 27 points during his 25-plus minutes. Chicago managed to overcome the three-time All-Star’s off-night, however, and pulled away in overtime to win 96-86. The first-place Bulls now lead the Heat by 3 1/2 games with seven to play.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and Luol Deng added 16, while reserves Kyle Korver scored 17 and C.J. Watson had 16 – including the game-tying 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in regulation – as Chicago’s bench outscored Miami’s 47-7.

Rose finished with a career-low three points and didn’t play in overtime. He might have spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench, as well, had coach Tom Thibodeau not needed to give Watson a breather.

“These games right here will make me a better player, a stronger player,” Rose said.

Rose’s poor performance wasn’t entirely surprising. He returned from a 12-game absence due to a groin injury for last Sunday’s overtime loss at New York, and subsequently injured his ankle. He shot 8 of 26 at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m just trying to get my rhythm back,” said Rose, who has missed 23 games.

He sat out the last game against Detroit on March 30, and Chicago won 83-71. Deng scored 20, while Joakim Noah had 19 and 12 rebounds as the Bulls reeled off their 14th straight win in the series since a 104-98 loss at The Palace on Dec. 23, 2008.

The run is Chicago’s longest active winning streak over a team, and Detroit’s longest current losing streak to an opponent.

The Bulls are one of the NBA’s top defensive scoring teams at 88.8 points per game, and in this season’s first three meetings, they’ve held the Pistons to an average of 74.0 points on 39.1 percent shooting. Detroit is one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams at 90.5 points per game and Chicago is 31-0 when limiting opponents to 91 or less.

The Pistons (22-37) are coming off Friday’s 113-97 loss to Milwaukee, their fourth defeat in five games.

“(The Bucks) were the only ones playing with desperation and urgency,” Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. “They definitely imposed their will on the game.”

Rookie Brandon Knight had 25 points Friday, while Ben Gordon scored 24 after averaging 8.8 points in his previous four.

Gordon, who spent his first five seasons with the Bulls, has totaled 18 points in his two games against his former team this season.

In Richard Hamilton’s lone game against his former team, the longtime Piston finished with 14 points in a 99-83 win at The Palace on Jan. 4.

Boozer is averaging 18.3 points on 60.0 percent shooting against Detroit this season, while Noah is averaging 12.0 points – also on 60.0 percent shooting.

The Miami Heat missed out on an excellent opportunity to start their push for the top spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, losing a hard-fought battle against the Chicago Bulls 96-86 on April 12. With the loss, the Heat slipped further away from the Bulls in the conference standings, currently trailing by four games.

As expected, both teams went back-and-forth throughout the game, setting the stage for an interesting fourth quarter. With 49 seconds left in the game, LeBron James hit a three-pointer, giving the Heat a two-point lead. Unfortunately for the Heat, the Bulls had some last minute heroics of their own, sending the game into overtime. In the overtime period, the Bulls were clearly the better team, dominating the Heat on their way to the victory.

“It hurts,” LeBron told reporters after the game. “As a team, we felt like we played well. We gave ourselves a chance to win…but they pretty much dominated the overtime. … This is one of the worst feelings for a regular-season game I’ve had this year.”

Once again, Miami’s “big three” showed up against the Bulls, but they didn’t get much help from their role players. Miami’s bench put up a measly 7 points against the Bulls, and even Mario Chalmers -who has typically been the team’s X-factor – struggled against the Bulls, shooting 29 percent from the field.

“It hurts,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “So there will not be an easy road. Right now, we’re dealing with the hard road.”

At this point in the season, it looks like the Heat will have to settle for the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That’s certainly not a warming thought, considering the fact the Heat will probably end up meeting the Bulls in the conference finals. The Bulls have been very successful against the Heat at the United Center this season. And Miami’s players will have their work cut out for them if the two powerhouses end up meeting in the conference finals.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 16 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.

Sources:

Ira Winderman, “Heat road woes continue in 96-86 overtime loss in Chicago”

Joseph Goodman, “Miami Heat crumbles in overtime to Chicago Bulls”

Player and game information from ESPN.com

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Boston Celtics Light Up the Miami Heat

CHICAGO — C.J. Watson scored 16 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away in overtime to beat the Miami Heat 96-86 on  Thursday night.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 19 points and Kyle Korver added 17 points for the Bulls, who outscored Miami 12-2 in overtime to boost their lead in the Eastern Conference to four games.

The Bulls were able to pull off the victory despite a horrible shooting night by Derrick Rose.

LeBron James scored 30 points for Miami, but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game late in regulation. Dwyane Wade added 21 points, Chris Bosh scored 20, but the Heat lost for the sixth time in 11 games.

Things were looking good for Miami when James nailed a 3 that made it 83-81 with 49 seconds left in regulation. But with a chance to seal the game, he missed the first of two free throws with 11.4 seconds remaining.

That kept the Bulls in it and Watson made a 3 to tie it at 84 with 2.2 seconds left. The game went into overtime when Wade missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer.

Deng started the extra period with a jumper. Taj Gibson dunked on Ronny Turiaf for a three-point play and scored on a neat spin move after Wade hit a free throw, making it 91-85, sending the Bulls to a dramatic win on a night when their superstar had perhaps his worst game as a pro.

Rose scored just two points and hit 1 of 13 shots, a brutal night for the reigning MVP. Then again, he hasn’t played much lately.

He returned from a 12-game absence due to a groin injury for Sunday’s overtime loss at New York, only to sprain his right ankle. He did not play Tuesday, when the Bulls beat the Knicks at home.

But even with Rose struggling, the Bulls managed to pull this one out.

Korver, who scored 14 on Tuesday, again came up big, particularly down the stretch.

His 3-pointer and jumper put Chicago ahead 78-74 with about 3:30 left, and after Wade scored, Boozer nailed a jumper and Ronnie Brewer hit a free throw to put the Bulls’ lead at 5.
Wade, however, kept Miami in it.

He scored on a drive and a jumper to make it a one-point game, and Bosh came up with a key rebound off a miss by Wade, feeding James for the 3 that made it 83-81. But things unraveled for the Heat after that.

Notes: Wade tied Alonzo Mourning’s franchise record for games played at 593. … Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a late switch and decided to have Udonis Haslem, battling stomach flu, start at center instead of Ronny Turiaf. … The Bulls and Heat meet one more time at Miami on April 19.

Despite the Boston Celtics falling to the San Antonio Spurs by the score of 87-86 on Wednesday, April 4, they continued to prove they are capable of keeping up with the hottest team in the NBA. The win marked the ninth straight for the Spurs–definitely an impressive feat.

Boston will hit the road to take on the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, April 5. While their schedule has been brutal, and will continue to be for the remainder of the season, the Celtics are facing it head-on, not breaking down. The experience will make them a better team for it, and will hopefully carry through to the playoffs.

The matchup:

The Boston Celtics will take on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center located in Chicago Ill. on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

The standings:

Boston comes into the game having lost their last game and with a 30-23 record. They are 11-14 on the road and have won seven of their last 10 games.

Chicago enters the matchup having lost their last two games and with a 42-13 record. They are 21-6 on their home court and have won six of their last 10 games.

The season series:

The season series currently stands at 2-1 in favor of the Bulls.

Where to watch:

The game can be watched live nationwide with NBA League Pass or–

In Boston: TNT

In Chicago: TNT

The season statistic leaders:

Boston: Paul Pierce- 19.1 points per game, Rajon Rondo- 11.1 assists per game, Kevin Garnett- 8.2 rebounds per game.

Chicago: Derrick Rose- 22.8 points per game, Derrick Rose- 8.0 assists per game, Joakim Noah- 9.8 rebounds per game.

Injuries to note:

Boston: Mickael Pietrus (concussion), Ray Allen (sore right ankle), Jermaine O’Neal (sprained left wrist), Jeff Green (aortic aneurysm).

Chicago: Derrick Rose (groin strain).

More Boston Celtics Commentary from Paul Rados:

Fan Preview: Can the Boston Celtics stop the surging Spurs?

Fan Look: What does the Boston Celtics’ victory over Miami prove?

Fan Preview: Are the Boston Celtics good enough to beat Miami?

Fan Preview: Can the Boston Celtics continue to roll against Minnesota?

Boston Celtics look to silence Utah Jazz: Fan Preview

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is an avid Boston Celtics fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.

On Sunday, April 1, the Chicago Bulls met their match but failed to show up, losing 92-78 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. A loss is never good but at least it was against a good team.

In fact, the Thunder are a very good team and with Sunday’s victory, they now have a 40-12 record and a playoff berth. But perhaps more importantly, the Chicago Bulls may have met their greatest challenge in their journey to the Championship.

Sunday was a wakeup call and there are two takeaways from the loss.

The Bulls Need Derrick Rose

The team needs Rose back in the lineup even though they have continued winning without him. Sunday’s game was the 10^th one without Rose and he said in a TV interview that he hopes to be back next week. He sounded less positive in an ESPN interview.

What the Bulls are lacking without Rose is offense, plays and leadership on the floor. For Sunday’s game, the team’s leading scorer was John Lucas with 19 points. He’s had a great run lately but well, he’s not a starter.

Of the Bulls’ 78 points against the Thunder, half (39 points) came from the Bench Mob. While one of their greatest strengths is depth, don’t you wonder where the starters were on Sunday both offensively and defensively by allowing 92 points to the Thunder?

They were moping on the sidelines.

The Bulls Need to Mentally Check In

Watching the Thunder roll over them on Sunday was deflating for the Bulls and for the fans. By the third quarter when the Bulls went on a three-minute plus cold spell, you knew it was not their day and a fourth quarter rally wouldn’t happen.

On Sunday, Kevin Durant (26 points) and Russell Westbrook (27 points) were the Rose and Luol Deng of the Thunder. They wanted the win more but what made matters worse was watching the Bulls’ faces on the bench.

They looked miserable and they looked like they had given up, especially Joakim Noah. Perhaps he was thinking about his poor performance: he scored five points with three rebounds. He said of the game, “It was disappointing just because they kicked our ass. That hasn’t happened to us in a long time.”

It was one of those games that everyone just wanted it to end but do you really want to see the players looking like they were thinking the same thing?

Thibodeau picked up on the negative vibe and said, “Derrick’s a great player. Obviously, we prefer to have him. But we have more than enough. I was more concerned tonight with the mental aspect. I thought we made a lot of mental mistakes.”

So what’s next for the Bulls? They return home and play the Houston Rockets on Monday, April 2.There’s a slight possibility Rip Hamilton will hit the floor. Maybe he’s the spark the team needs or maybe the home crowd will wake this team up.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago resident, the Derrick Rose era has been a good one.

On Wednesday, March 21, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors, 92-84.

The Bulls needed a fourth quarter rally to pull off the win as they continue to march along without Derrick Rose on the court. Good teams find a way to win and the Bulls are that team.

Rose sat out for game No. 5 and is slowly on the mend; he continues to be day-to-day.

Wednesday’s win came from a recurring theme for this season: the Bull’s depth. Players again stepped up to cover the hole made by Rose’s absence. While he is the field general on the court, his troops are learning to lead without him. Some wins (such as Wednesday’s) aren’t pretty but the Bulls get it done.

After entering halftime with a 51-43 deficit, the Bulls needed to make some changes; you knew that taking home an L was not an option for coach Tom Thibodeau. He doesn’t like to lose.

It was a chilly third quarter for the Bulls and they trailed 69-62 entering the final quarter. I really couldn’t believe they were going to let the Raptors beat them.

But the Bench Mob stepped up and got the win for the team. Or should I say John Lucas III was the fourth quarter’s MVP.

The diminutive journeyman scored his 13 points for the night in the final quarter. It was a slow first half for the guard but when he was called off the bench by Thibodeau, he contributed.

Lucas said of Wednesday’s play, “I just wanted to come in with a lot of energy. The first half I felt like I was flat and I wanted to make it up. I said, ‘I’m just going to give it everything I have and just go out there and play my hardest and leave everything on the court.’”

Fellow Bench Mob player who stepped in the final 12 minutes was Kyle Korver. He also waited to score his 10 points of the night at the end, including one three-pointer, to contribute to a much-needed 20-0 run.

Taj Gibson added eight points.

Once again overcoming their injuries, Loul Deng led the team in scoring with 17 points and 10 rebounds while filling in for Rose, C.J. Watson, added 15 points.

The next game for the Bulls is a rematch against Toronto on Saturday, March 24.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago resident, the Derrick Rose era has been a good one.

The Philadelphia 76ers are looking up at the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in the East, just like everyone else. Sixers fans like myself know full well that they can’t match up to the Heat, although the Bulls have been another matter. Although the Bulls actually have the best record in the East, the Sixers have beaten them once and come close to beating them twice in Philadelphia.

On Mar. 17, the Sixers actually paid a visit to Chicago and started out pretty well. But despite holding a halftime lead and not having to face Derrick Rose, the Bulls still rallied back for an 89-80 victory. As such, it capped another tough stretch in which the Sixers remembered where they stand in the Eastern power structure.

After getting blown out early by the Heat on Mar. 16, the Sixers went to visit the Bulls 24 hours later and actually started out much better. Without Rose around to torch Philadelphia, Chicago only scored 11 points in the first quarter. However, the Bulls did get 27 in the second and closed the deficit to six at halftime, setting the stage for a killer third quarter.

The Sixers have usually thrived after halftime, yet this wasn’t one of those games as the Bulls jumped to the lead for good. This time it was Philadelphia that was shut down to start a half, scoring only 15 points in the third quarter. In fact, Jrue Holiday was pretty much the only Sixer to score anything, getting a whopping 30 points while virtually everyone else was in single digits.

It was a weird night all around without Rose and with Holiday shooting a whopping 27 of the Sixers’ 79 shots. While Rose is the MVP, Chicago showed that it has a lot more weapons, whereas the usual Philadelphia balanced attack was not on display. But while Holiday carried Philadelphia, he isn’t Rose and the Sixers supporting cast is not on the level of the Bulls.

Everyone knew that Philadelphia was not close to the likes of Miami and Chicago, yet learning it again on back-to-back nights was brutal. Combined with a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Mar. 14, the Sixers have gone from winning three games in a row to losing three straight to playoff teams. These types of reality checks have become far too common for Philadelphia these days.

The Sixers may be closer to matching up with the Bulls than the Heat, yet these two leaders still have a wide lead over them – like they tower over the rest of the conference. If anyone is going to derail a Chicago-Miami conference final rematch, Philadelphia will remain one of the long shots, especially after these last two performances.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan.

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76ers wait far too long to make an effort against Heat

Nets still can’t take Howard to Brooklyn for now

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76ers have rare defensive lapses in Indiana

The Miami Heat ran into some problems against the Chicago Bulls on March 14, losing 106-102. To make the loss even more disappointing, the Bulls were without their star player, Derrick Rose, but the Heat‘s defense still struggled against them.

The Heat actually looked good in the first quarter of their encounter against the Bulls. But a poor second quarter got them in serious trouble. By halftime, the Heat were down 11 points. Miami couldn’t close the gap in the third quarter, but they did fight back in the final quarter, putting up 32 points on the Bulls’ defense. Unfortunately for the Heat, it wasn’t enough to secure the victory.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat against the Bulls, putting up 36 points (game-high) and 7 rebounds (team-high). LeBron James had a big game as well, finishing with 35 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Chris Bosh had a tough time shooting the ball against the Bulls, converting on only 20 percent of his field goal attempts. He finished with 12 points and three rebounds.

Once again, Miami’s role players couldn’t get anything going against the Bulls, with no other players on the Heat’s roster — besides the “big three” — finishing with over 6 points against Chicago.

Rebounding was also a factor in the Heat‘s loss to the Bulls, as Miami’s big men struggled on the glass. The Heat finished the game with only 34 rebounds, compared to Chicago’s 50.

“This game was won in the trenches,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “They absolutely annihilated us on the glass. We need to get into that fight under the glass.”

The Heat struggled on the glass in their previous outing against the Orlando Magic, and they’ll definitely need to make some adjustments before concluding their three-game road trip against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 16.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 16 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.

Sources:

Joseph Goodman, “Two Straight: Miami Heat Lose OT To Orlando, Then Fall To Bulls”

Player and game information from ESPN.com

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CHICAGO — Derrick Rose had 24 points and 13 assists, Carlos Boozer scored 27 and the Chicago Bulls pounded the Utah Jazz 111-97 on Saturday night.

Kyle Korver scored a season-high 26 points, and the Bulls got back to winning after their season-high eight-game streak ended with a loss to Orlando on Thursday. They turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage going into the fourth quarter and came away with a lopsided victory on a night when both teams were short-handed.

The Bulls were missing All-Star Luol Deng, who was out because of pain brought on by a torn ligament in his left wrist. Joakim Noah sat out with an illness, and guards Richard Hamilton (right shoulder injury) and C.J. Watson remained sidelined.

The Jazz were without starting guards Devin Harris (stomach virus) and Raja Bell, who was away from the team for unspecified reasons. Coach Tyrone Corbin called it “an internal matter” that he expects to be resolved soon.

Utah had no answer for the Bulls, though.

Rose perked up after a slow start and Boozer and Korver dominated their former team, leading Chicago to an easy win. The Bulls still haven’t dropped back-to-back games this season, and that wasn’t about to change on a night when they shot just under 56 percent.

Boozer made 13 of 17 shots. Korver was on target, too, nailing 6 of 11 3-pointers, and had seven rebounds and six assists in his best game of the season.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 26 points. Al Jefferson scored 16 and Josh Howard added 15 points, but the Jazz simply were overwhelmed, losing for the second time in as many nights.

Rose scored seven points over the final 3:24 of the first half to help the Bulls build a 48-41 lead after Utah pulled within two at 39-37, and Chicago dominated the rest of the way.

The Bulls scored 31 in the third quarter, and led by as much as 18 in the final minute of the period.

The crowd was roaring after John Lucas III stole the ball from Jamaal Tinsley and fed Taj Gibson for a hard two-handed dunk. Ronnie Brewer then stole a pass from Al Jefferson and hit two free throws to make it 79-61 with 12.8 seconds left, before Tinsley nailed a short turnaround jumper.

NOTES: Asked before the game if Bell’s situation would be a distraction, Corbin said: “No distraction, no. I wouldn’t expect so. We’ve got the Bulls, and that’s enough distraction for everybody.” … Watson appears close to returning after missing his fourth straight game. “He did some running, some shooting today,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The swelling’s down. We’ll see where he is (Sunday).”