On Tuesday, May 8, the Chicago Bulls grabbed a much-needed victory and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 77-69. The Bulls are now one game behind in the series and have gained hope to remain in the series.

After falling short in the last few games, coupled with the Derrick Rose and now Joakim Noah injuries, it was time for some other players to show up and get their groove.

Here are a few difference makers from Tuesday’s scrappy win that will be keys for the remaining game(s).

The Starters: Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer

With the shifts in the starters the last few weeks, two seasoned ones finally showed up on Tuesday and appeared to have a rhythm.

Luol Deng had a great game and looked like the all-star player that Bulls’ fans expect. After his eight-point average in the previous three games, Deng had 24 points and eight rebounds. He went four for five in 3-pointers, grabbing three during the fourth quarter.

He emerged as the team’s much-desired leader.

Supporting his fellow starter was veteran Carlos Boozer. He added 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, which ties his career playoff high. In the last two games, he has stepped up with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the Sunday, May 6 game.

While these two starters got the team the win, fellow teammates Rip Hamilton (six points) and C.J. Watson (five points), came up short and can’t do this again if this team is going to have a chance to win.

The Bench Mob: Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer

Gibson has been solid off the bench (14 points in Game four) and on Tuesday, he contributed eight points, which was the high for the Bench Mob, and five rebounds. He tweaked his ankle in the game but after sitting out, returned in the fourth quarter to help the Bulls take the lead.

Gibson doesn’t foresee the injury being a problem in the next game. He said, “I’ll be fine. Knowing myself, I’m going to play. I’m not going to sit out.”

Brewer came off the bench and added six points with eight rebounds after being benched in the third game (May 4).

Combined, the two players had 21 minutes of play.

The Bulls will need continued strong play from the Bench Mob and more offense coming from players including Kyle Korver.

Defense

Without Rose, the Bulls need to rely on their defense, which hasn’t always been the case in the series but it was on Tuesday. By holding the 76ers to 69 points, it was the first time they have done so in the postseason since the late 1990′s.

The Bulls also held the 76ers to 32.1 percent shooting, which was a season low for the team.

Next up for the Bulls is Game 6 on Thursday in Philadelphia. They are in a dire situation and know that the 76ers will play like it’s Game No. 7. Noah has said he’d like to return for it but will he be healthy enough by then to play at a high level or will his timing be off?

The Bulls like being an underdog. Has their luck changed in Game 5 or was it just a short-term spurt of good play?

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

CHICAGO (AP) The Chicago Bulls aren’t quite finished after all. They’re still in a dire situation, though.

Luol Deng scored 24 points, Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Chicago beat the Philadelphia 76ers 77-69 on Tuesday night to avoid a first-round playoff exit.

The top-seeded Bulls finally won without point guard Derrick Rose, building a nine-point halftime lead and staying in control down the stretch to pull within 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday in Philadelphia, and the way Chicago sees it, maybe, just maybe, some of the pressure is now on the 76ers.

”Definitely,” Deng said. ”We’re in a situation where we know if we lose we go home. After tonight’s game, they’re going to feel a little pressure and try to close it out.”

It’s been a brutal series for the Bulls.

Rose tore the ACL in his left knee late in the opening win, casting a huge cloud over a team that came in eyeing another big run after reaching the conference finals a year ago, and things only got worse from there.

In Game 2, there was a second-half collapse at home. In Game 3, there was center Joakim Noah spraining his left ankle, and in Game 4, the Bulls came up short again.

With Rose out for the rest of the season and Noah sitting out his second straight game, Chicago came in looking like a team that was ready to bow out.

Instead, the Bulls locked down the Sixers, holding them to season lows for points and shooting ( 32.1 percent). And with Boozer and Deng coming up big, Chicago kept its season going.

”You can’t let one game all of a sudden get you spinning in the wrong direction,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said. ”We didn’t expect to beat the Bulls four straight. This is a damn good team.”

Deng played more like an All-Star after averaging just eight points in the previous three games, hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts – three in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Boozer tied a career-playoff high with six assists, and the Bulls came out on top just when their season appeared to be unraveling.

They still have no room for error.

A loss Thursday would make them the fifth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in the first round and the second in as many years, after San Antonio fell to Memphis last season. But if they continue to play like this, the Bulls just might have a shot.

”They’re going to treat the game in Philly like it’s Game 7,” Chicago’s Richard Hamilton said. ”They don’t want to come back here. We’ve got to figure out a way to do the same thing we did tonight, and hopefully, we’ll get the win.”

Jrue Holiday scored 16 points for Philadelphia but hit just 5 of 17 shots. Lou Williams scored 13 points and Andre Iguodala and Spencer Hawes both finished with 11 as the Sixers remained one win from their first series victory since 2003.

Hawes grabbed 14 rebounds, but it was a rough night for him after scoring 21 and 22 the previous two games. He wound up with a nasty scratch running from the side of his left eye to below the lip after going up for a shot during the fourth quarter.

Even Holiday said, ”Wow, what’s that?” as Hawes walked by on his way out of the locker room.

”It’s a physical series,” Hawes said. ”If that’s how it’s going to go, we can play that brand of basketball.”

There was some tension late in the second quarter after Boozer missed a jumper.

Taj Gibson and Elton Brand wound up on the court near the Bulls bench in a scramble for the loose ball, and they kept going at it as players from both sides joined the scrum.

Ronnie Brewer and Evan Turner appeared to exchange some heated words, but Gibson and Brand wound up getting technical fouls with 2:25 left.

”Got an elbow in the face,” Brand said. ”Can’t allow that. But after the play was over, it’s over.”

The Bulls were on a 10-2 run to close the half that gave them a 35-26 lead. They were up 57-48 going into the fourth quarter after another injury scare late in the third.

This time, Gibson came up clutching his right ankle and hit the court after fouling Lavoy Allen underneath with just over 2 minutes left in the quarter. He came back early in the fourth to loud cheers, and the crowd was really roaring when Deng nailed a 3 to make it 67-52, giving the Bulls their biggest lead.

They had more to cheer when Gibson hit a jumper, pumping his fist, and two free throws to get the lead 71-58. And they were really screaming moments later when Brewer blocked Brand on a putback.

Question is: Will they be seeing the Bulls again this season?

”We feel like we can go to Philadelphia and get one great road win,” Boozer said.

Notes: Gibson vowed to be ready for Game 6, saying, ”I’ll be fine. Knowing myself, I’m going to play. I’m not going to sit out.” … Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau again said a timetable for Rose’s surgery has not been set. ”They’re still talking things over,” he said. … Fans gave Rose a loud ovation and he responded with a wave when he was shown seated in a suite during a second-quarter timeout. … Brand had five points for Philadelphia, and Turner scored four.

DEERFIELD — It seemed almost unthinkable that the Chicago Bulls could be in this spot.

Yet here they are, trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 3-1 in the first round and trying to avoid elimination as they return home for Game 5 Tuesday night.

If the Bulls lose, they will be just the fifth No. 1 seed to fall to an eighth seed. It would also give Philadelphia its first series victory since 2003, a scenario few envisioned when the postseason started.

“It’s been a crazy year from beginning to right now,” guard Richard Hamilton said Monday. “We know that.”

They also realize it’ll take a wild comeback for them to advance, particularly given their injuries. They lost Derrick Rose for the remainder of the season to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in the series opener, and center Joakim Noah will likely sit out his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle, leaving them without two of their leaders.

As they staggered back home following Sunday’s 89-82 loss, they sure looked like a beaten team. History says they’re just about finished, too. Only eight teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.

Hamilton wasn’t conceding anything. He was with Detroit when the Pistons turned the trick in 2003, beating in the first round Orlando after falling behind 3-1 and advancing all the way to the conference finals.

“When we played Orlando, I remember Tracy (McGrady) made a comment saying that it feels good to be going to the second round, so we kind of took that personally,” Hamilton said. “Right now, it’s personal. It’s not just about business. … It’s personal. This is it. You can win and continue playing, or you can go home, so you’ve got to make it personal.”

The 76ers weren’t making any bold statements after Game 4, even though they’re on the verge of a rare feat. The only other eight seeds to knock off a No. 1 are Denver (1994), New York (1999), Golden State (2007) and Memphis last season, when it eliminated San Antonio, but while they put themselves in a good spot, they also got a few words of caution from associate head coach Michael Curry.

Like Hamilton, he played on that 2003 Pistons team.

“I think Michael Curry was great in the locker room yesterday when he talked about the Detroit-Orlando situation,” coach Doug Collins said.

“You can’t go in with the idea we’ve got three games to win one. That would be very bad psychology. We’ve got to go in with the idea that we want to go to Chicago and we want to finish the series.”

Andre Iguodala agreed.

“We’re hungry and we still want it just as bad as if we were down 0-3,” he said. “We’ve got to come in and play like this could be our last game.”

For Chicago, it has simply been a brutal series.

Rose was looking more like an MVP after missing 27 games during the regular season because of injuries when he went down late in Game 1, and the Bulls haven’t been the same without their superstar.

They got plowed over in the second half while dropping Game 2, and things only got worse in Game 3. As if watching their best player go down weren’t enough, they lost one of their emotional leaders after Noah stepped on Iguodala’s foot while driving the lane.

And in Game 4, they again came up short.

Jrue Holiday has been giving them fits, averaging 19.8 points in the series. He nailed two 3-pointers down the stretch on Sunday after struggling most of the game. Spencer Hawes has been a big headache, too, shooting over 57 percent and averaging 12.5 points in the series.

The Bulls, meanwhile, have gotten little from Luol Deng. Carlos Boozer has been inconsistent, and Hamilton can’t even get on the court down the stretch, with coach Tom Thibodeau going with Kyle Korver instead. He sat out the entire final period in each of the first two games and was in for just 27 seconds in Game 4 after playing 9 minutes, 43 seconds in the fourth quarter of Game 3.

“You do (want to play in the fourth), but it is what it is,” Hamilton said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do. My job is if I’m not on the court in the fourth quarter is to cheer for the next guy because I know the next guy would do the same thing for me.”

The Bulls came in with big expectations, eyeing a possible rematch with Miami in the Eastern Conference finals after grabbing the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year.
Now, they’re in a spot few envisioned.

“That’s where your mental toughness, your physical toughness come into play,” Thibodeau said. “Hopefully, you’ve been building the right habits all season long to get through situations like this. Every team in the playoffs is going through the same thing. There’s going to be ups and downs. You have to be resilient. You have to persevere. You have to get through things.

“But we have more than enough to win with,” he continued. “We just have to finish it off.”

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Chicago Bulls have failed at winning one game without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

Somehow, as they head back home, the top team in the East has to win three without the pair to avoid an ugly ending.

Spencer Hawes scored 22 points and Jrue Holiday had 20 to help the surprising Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 89-82 on Sunday and take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Chicago.

The top-seeded Bulls played without Rose (torn ACL) and Noah (sprained ankle). Rose is out for the season and Noah is day to day for the rest of the series.

In NBA postseason history, the eighth seed has won a first-round series against the No. 1 seed four times, including last season when Memphis eliminated San Antonio. Golden State (2007), New York (1999) and Denver (1994) also pulled off the rare feat.

”We have to find a way,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”We’re fighting, but we can do better. We can do a lot better.”

The top-seeded Bulls suddenly fear elimination from a Sixers team one win away from joining the short list of eighth-seeded teams to win a series.

”I’m not worried about it,” Thibodeau said. ”I’m just worried about the next game. We do have more than enough to win with.”

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who have won the last three games after losing Game 1.

The Sixers won three straight playoff games for the first time since Allen Iverson fueled their run to the 2001 NBA finals.

Holiday was sensational down the stretch after a rocky first 3 1/2 quarters. He missed his first five 3-point attempts until he nailed one to make it 77-73. He hit another the next time down for a seven-point lead to the delight of a roaring sellout crowd.

They were easily his biggest shots on a 7-of-23 night.

”We have to play like it’s Game 7,” Holiday said. ”We want to win in Chicago.”

The undermanned Bulls kept at it and refused to use playing without their two biggest impact players as an excuse. C.J. Watson, who scored 17 points, hit a step-back jumper to make it a two-point game.

In a whistle-happy contest, Holiday went to the line with 51 seconds left and made both for an 84-80 lead.

Suddenly – and shockingly – the Sixers are a win away from taking a playoff series for the first time since 2003.

Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Taj Gibson chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Without a full roster, the Bulls barked at the refs, talked trash on the court and used every self-motivational tactic they knew to gain an edge on the Sixers.

Noah, injured in Game 3, took charge on the bench as head cheerleader. Wearing a protective walking boot, he clapped, cheered and offered instruction in the timeout huddle. Noah was needed more on the court than as a de facto assistant coach.

Boozer actively did his best to keep the Bulls in the game. He played through foul trouble to score 18 points through three quarters (matching his combined total for the first two games) and he fought for some of the tough rebounds Noah would grab.

It wasn’t enough.

The Sixers made 22 of 31 free throws to Chicago’s 11-for-14 effort. The Sixers only averaged 18.2 free-throw attempts this season.

”Bottom line, we’ve got to play better defense without fouling,” Boozer said. ”You can’t cry about the referees. It’s the playoffs. If we could hold them to 17, 18 points in the fourth quarter, maybe we win that game.”

Iguodala played through right Achilles’ tendinitis to make so many impact plays for the Sixers. He halted a Bulls run in the third with a 3 for a 57-56 lead. Bad leg and all, he still soared for a thunderous dunk on the break in the first half for an eight-point lead. One of the worst fourth-quarter foul shooters in the NBA, Iguodala even made both with 26.6 seconds left.

”I think the adrenaline carried me through the game,” Iguodala said. ”It’s hard to get on your toes, that’s the hardest thing.”

Game 4 lacked the electric atmosphere early that accompanies a postseason game because the Broad Street Run was routed in front of the sports complex. The Wells Fargo Center was barely half full by tip and the announced crowd of 20,142 needed time to warm up.

By the time Holiday hit his 3s, the arena was going wild.

His sharp shooting in clutch time came at the right time after a slow start.

Holiday and Turner continue to befuddle coach Doug Collins with their inconsistency. The under-25 starting backcourt followed a solid Game 3 with a combined 3 for 22 for eight points in the first half. Lou Williams, perhaps the league’s top reserve, failed to bail them out with a 2-for-10 effort in the game. Their struggles were a key reason the depleted Bulls kept the score tight even without their two stars.

The Sixers crashed the boards early without Noah in the lineup and had 15 second-chance points in the half to grab a 10-point lead.

Hawes hit the go-ahead 20-footer late in the fourth for the Game 3 winner and he continued his hot hand into Sunday. He had made seven of his first eight shots, including a 3-pointer right before the second quarter buzzer to send the Sixers into halftime with 44-42 lead.

NOTES: Boxer Bernard Hopkins, former NBA great Dolph Schayes, former Sixers great Julius Erving and actor Bill Murray attended the game. … Philadelphia last won a playoff series when it beat New Orleans in 2003. … The Sixers hold a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time since the 1984 East semifinals. … 76ers CEO Adam Aron said there was nothing the team could do about the start time.

The Philadelphia 76ers are not in a pretty series with the Chicago Bulls right now. Aside from the second half of Game 2 on May 1, Sixers fans like myself didn’t see Philadelphia play efficient basketball in Chicago. But we hoped the Sixers would take that second half and build on it when they returned to the Wells Fargo Center for Game 3 on May 4 – yet it took about 40 minutes for that to happen.

The Sixers and Bulls each played ugly, low scoring basketball for much of the night, although Chicago looked most likely to survive after Philadelphia was ice cold to start the second half. However, the Bulls got even icier in the fourth and the Sixers finally took advantage, using a closing 26-7 run to steal a 79-74 victory and a 2-1 series lead.

Both teams struggled in equal measure in the first half, with Philadelphia eeking out a 40-39 halftime lead. Yet unlike in Game 2, it was the Bulls who came out on a roll in the third quarter – at least by comparison. While the Sixers skidded out of the gate, the Bulls started cruising to a 14 point lead early in the fourth. What’s more, not even losing Joakin Noah to a sprained left ankle was stopping them at the moment.

However, it took a while in Game 2 for Chicago to collapse without Derrick Rose. Fortunately for Philadelphia, it didn’t take as long in Game 3 for its opponent to fall apart without Noah. On a night where both teams could barely score at times, the Sixers finally pulled out this ugly win by playing beautifully in the final minutes.

The Bulls might have lost even more decisively if they didn’t keep getting offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t like they were doing much with them anyway. Not having Noah cost the Bulls their inside advantage, while Rose’s absence leaves them without an outside shooter to close the Sixers out.

Philadelphia has been lacking a real closer all season, yet it still had Spencer Hawes fill the gap with 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter – including the shot that put it ahead for good. In addition, the Sixers kept forcing their way to the line and made all but one free throw attempt in the fourth, while the Bulls only got there four times and didn’t get a point.

There have only been two stretches in this series where the Sixers have looked rock solid and dominant. Yet those two stretches have made the difference so far, as the third quarter in Game 2 and the fourth in Game 3 – as well as Chicago’s injuries in Games 1 and 3 – have single-handedly given Philadelphia the inside track towards an upset.

Can the Sixers keep playing ugly for long periods of time and then use one perfect run to win? They couldn’t get away with it against a fully healthy Bulls team – yet the more stars Chicago loses, the more Philadelphia’s margin for error increases. As such, now it’s the Bulls who are looking truly ugly and are suddenly losing their margin for error.

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

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Spencer Hawes scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and hit the go-ahead jumper late in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers rally to beat the Chicago Bulls 79-74 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Hawes scored 10 clutch points in the fourth to give the eighth-seeded Sixers the surprising series lead.

Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Already playing the rest of the series without reigning MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls got another scare in the third quarter when Joakim Noah left with a sprained left ankle. Noah, who scored 12 points, returned in the fourth quarter and mostly hobbled around the court.

With Rose out, the Sixers believed they were in perfect position to knock off the top-seeded Bulls and build a series lead on their home court.

Good plan.

The Sixers scored only 11 points in the third quarter and trailed by double digits early in the fourth before taking off against the battered Bulls.

Hawes keyed the surge and buried two free throws to make it 71-70 with 3:28 left.

After getting crushed on the boards all game, the Sixers scooped up a loose ball rebound and hit the open court, only to have Andre Iguodala miss a long and unnecessary 3-point attempt. Iguodala, bothered by right Achilles’ tendinitis, chucked the ball off the backboard to the dismay of a crowd that has seen him do that too many times to count.

Nursing a one-point lead, Noah missed two free throws giving the Sixers new life.

Hawes hit a 20-footer for a 72-71 lead and Evan Turner made two free throws for a three-point lead with 1:24 left.

John Lucas III of the Bulls buried a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game and a send a shiver into a team that faded down the stretch after a 20-9 start.

All of that is behind them now. Jrue Holiday hit two free throws to seal the win to the delight of 20,381 fans who packed the Wells Fargo Center.

The Bulls missed 10 straight field goals over 5-plus minutes in the fourth to lose all of their 14-point lead.

Holiday scored 17 points and Turner had 16 while reserve Lou Williams added 14.

Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls and Richard Hamilton scored 17 points.

Noah’s injury came midway through the third quarter when he stepped on Iguodala’s foot driving down the lane. His feet gave out from under him and he crashed to the court. Noah instantly grabbed his left ankle in pain — while a smattering of fans cheered the fallen Bull.

Noah walked gingerly to the bench for a timeout but returned to shoot his free throws.

He was on the bench after a few possessions and stayed there until the fourth.

Noah hopped around trying to take pressure off the ankle. He put the pressure right on the Sixers and even nailed a 15-footer.

The bumps kept coming for the banged-up Bulls.

Boozer was whistled for his fourth foul with 4:36 left in the third and joined Noah on the bench. The duo had combined for 26 points and 15 rebounds by that point.

That left Taj Gibson and Omer Asik in the frontcourt. With that lineup, the Bulls kept an ineffective Luol Deng in the game when he picked up his fourth foul about 2 minutes later.

Before the quarter was out, Gibson became tangled with Thaddeus Young and was briefly down. No worries on this one. He buried a jumper for Chicago’s first double-digit lead of the game, 60-50.

Hamilton hit a 3 for a 67-53 lead in the fourth and it appeared they were cruising toward the victory.

Not so fast. With the Philly crowd standing and waving their rally towels, the Sixers seemed primed for a comeback. Hawes fought inside for a tough basket that pulled the Sixers to 69-64 to help them end the game on a stunning 26-7 run.

The Sixers outscored Chicago 36-14 in the third quarter of Game 2, then followed with a 40-point first half on Friday. The Sixers missed 11 of their first 12 3-point attempts and shot only 30 percent through the first three quarters. Starting forward Elton Brand was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting.

The Bulls need to figure out a new way to play without Rose and to protect Noah if they don’t want this series to slip away.

Notes: Hall of Famer Julius Erving returned to the Sixers as a strategic adviser. His deal runs through 2015 and he will be available to the franchise on an as-needed basis. … Actor Bill Murray was at the game. … The Sixers snapped a four-game home losing streak.

But in a series that has defied prediction, one more impossibility took place in the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won a game in which their play was pig-ugly most of the night, but just pretty enough in the end. The 79-74 win gives them the series lead and, unless Chicago has another speed it would like to try, gives them a command of things.

It will be hard for the Bulls to recover from their fourth-quarter collapse against a team that looked dead in the water and was being booed by its own fans. They lived by their strategy and, in the end, they were the real victims of it.

The Bulls entered the game intent on slowing the place and forcing their way into the basket area where they should have had a decided advantage on the 76ers. After a second half of watching his team settle for jump shots in its Game 2 loss, it was a solid piece of strategy for coach Tom Thibodeau.

And the Bulls succeeded on several levels. They did turn the game into a half-court struggle. They did work the ball to the inside diligently. What they also did, however, was transform the game into a pretty hideous affair to watch.

As the Bulls forced the ball to the post area, they also made difficult passes in traffic to big men who have trouble handling ordinary passes. That helped lead to 10 first-half turnovers for Chicago, one of the failings that kept the Sixers in the game.

Because it certainly wasn’t shooting that kept the Sixers in the game. Limited to their half-court offense for the most part, the Sixers weren’t getting the easy layups and dunks that came their way in the freewheeling Game 2.

At one point midway through the second quarter, the Sixers had missed seven straight shots from the field and were 2 of 11 in the period. There were just over six minutes left in the half, they had scored just 26 points . . . and they were still in the game!

Not only were they in the game, but after finally stemming the tide when they fell behind by seven points, they were able to rally to take a one-point, 40-39 halftime lead.

How was that possible? Well, it took some help from Chicago.

The Bulls played along with the game by having their own offense issues. When they got the ball to the rim, they didn’t get the bounce. When they settled for jump shots, as their second unit had to do more frequently, those didn’t fall. In the second period, Chicago made just 5 of 17 shots.

Adding to their problems, they had to put players like Kyle Korver on the floor, who added nothing to the offense, and couldn’t locate a single Sixers player he could defend. When the Sixers scored 14 of the final 20 points of the half to take their slim lead, it was because they were the ones able to get to the basket.

So, while the Bulls were easily winning the rebounding battle, they were being short-circuited because turnovers and poor shooting kept them from taking advantage of the offensive opportunities those produced.

But they decided how the game would be played. They dictated the pace. They made it uglier than a possum’s butt. Now they had to live with it and hope the second half got prettier.

It did get a little better for the Bulls, but only because the Sixers came out and put on one of those half-court offense shooting displays that can make your eyes bleed. The Sixers made just 4 of 21 shots in the third period, and, through no fault of their own the Bulls had been able to build a nine-point lead, 60-51.

Worse news for the Sixers was that Chicago built that lead with the second unit doing much of the work and eating a lot of the minutes. The Bulls survived what looked like it could have been a bad ankle sprain for Joaquim Noah when Andre Iguodala tripped Noah on a drive to the basket. The classy crowd cheered the apparent injury, but Noah was able to get up and, eventually, continue.

No, if the Sixers were going to take the lead in the series on Friday night, they would need a hot offense in the final quarter – and a Bulls collapse. Incredibly enough, that is what they got, as the Bulls were as cold in the fourth quarter as the Sixers had been in the third.

The Sixers crept back shot by excruciating shot. It was that kind of night. A slow night when every effort had to be made as if running in deep sand.

It should get a little easier now.

Contact columnist Bob Ford at [email protected], read his blog at www.philly.com/postpatterns, and follow @bobfordsports on Twitter.

The Philadelphia 76ers added intrigue to their series with the Chicago Bulls by blowing the top seed out in Game 2 on May 1. However, Sixers fans like myself still have to take into account that it was the Bulls‘ first game since Derrick Rose‘s season-ending injury. That is a handy excuse for why Chicago lost Game 2 and why it might not win the championship, yet it isn’t a handy excuse for losing this series.

As such, it is easy to expect/fear that the Game 2 victory was a fluke and just the wake-up call that the Bulls needed. Therefore, the best way to prove that Philadelphia is a real threat in this series is to take Game 3 at home on May 4 and keep Chicago from waking up.

While Rose’s injury made a difference, the Sixers’ efficient shooting and second-half dominance played its part as well in Game 2. Yet expecting Philadelphia to take control like that in Game 3 might be unrealistic. Given that the Sixers were blown out in Game 1 until Rose got injured and then blew the Bulls out in Game 2, can they win with something in between?

To actually survive this series, Philadelphia needs to prove itself for more than just a half of basketball. It also can’t count on Chicago sleepwalking without Rose forever, since being even at 1-1 and losing home court advantage may have sent too strong of a message. But while the Bulls will still struggle without him, they can afford to be only a little iffy and win, although the Sixers don’t have that margin for error.

Philadelphia needed to start out utterly perfect in the second half to start choking the life out of a stunned Chicago squad. However, perfect halves are bound to be in shorter supply as the series goes on. The Sixers may need to win ugly in a tight game or two, even though winning that way has eluded them for much of the season.

If they can prevail like that, or in any other way in Game 3, it will help prove that the Bulls can’t just wake up at a moment’s notice. Everyone assumed that the Sixers were so inferior, even with Rose gone, that the Bulls could flip the switch and get through before getting knocked off by a better team. But a Game 3 upset and a 2-1 Philadelphia series lead will make that much harder to believe.

If the Bulls bounce back, then Game 2 was most likely a fluke and there’s a good chance things will revert back to normal for both teams. But if the Sixers still have more in them and can take advantage of their new found fortune, then perhaps Game 2 was less of a fluke and will look more like a harbinger for things to come.

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

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PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are no longer just a mere stepping stone for the Chicago Bulls on their way to tougher battles in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
They’re a major hurdle now.

Losing reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose had an immediate impact on the top-seeded Bulls in this first-round series. After dominating the Sixers in the opener, they were routed 109-92 in Game 2 Tuesday night.

Now the best-of-seven series shifts to Philadelphia on Friday night. The underdog Sixers are confident about their chances.

They should be, considering how Chicago played without Rose.

“I told our guys, `We have a great opportunity. Let’s take advantage of this’,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

The Bulls were 18-9 without Rose in the regular season, but it’s a different situation now. The superstar guard tore a knee ligament in the final minutes of Game 1 and will miss the rest of the playoffs.

He may not miss much if the Bulls don’t figure things out quickly.

“Derrick is not here. This is a different team,” Bulls forward Luol Deng said. “Go back and watch how we won those games (without Rose). It’s not one guy who has to go out of character. We’re a team and we’ll get it done together.”

The Bulls went 50-16 on their way to the best record in the conference because they have more than just Rose. There’s Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson, too.

“I think everybody has the right intentions on this team,” Noah said. “That’s why we’re the No. 1 seed. We’ve dealt with a lot of adversity. There’s really no excuses at this point.

“We’ve got to fight, though.”

The Sixers stumbled into the playoffs after an excellent start. They led the Atlantic Division at the midpoint of the season before tailing off. The Bulls, meanwhile, steamrolled through the Central Division and earned the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row.

A playoff rematch against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat seemed inevitable in the conference finals. The Heat beat the Bulls in five games in the East Finals last year.

But without Rose, the Bulls can’t look that far ahead.

“It’s just one game. The series ain’t over. If anything, it’s just beginning,” Bulls guard John Lucas III said. “This is win or go home. It’s gut-check time. So we’re going to go out there and play. We’re going to get ready. We’re going to come out with a lot of energy like we do all the time. This time we’re not going to lose it; we’re going to grind it out. It’s going to be different now.

“Everybody’s saying this and that. All we’ve got is ourselves. We’re a unit. We’re a family. What we want to happen will happen. We just have to stay together.”

The Sixers became the first No. 8 seed in the East to win on the road since 2003, and the 17-point margin was the second-highest in that span. Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner were outstanding in Game 2, Lou Williams provided a spark off the bench and Andre Iguodala played his usual strong defense.

“For the first time in a long time, our defense dictated our offense,” Iguodala said. “We rebounded the ball. Evan and myself pushed it out on the break and we finished pretty well.”

Back home after playing seven consecutive games on the road, the Sixers had Wednesday off. They’ll hit the practice floor Thursday before taking the court at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time in 17 days Friday.

A fan base that was more focused on the Flyers’ run in the NHL playoffs, the Phillies’ slow start and the Eagles’ draft is turning some of its attention to the Sixers. They’re excited about the possibility of pulling off a first-round upset, an idea that seemed remote just a week ago.

“You’ve got to raise your level of play. Raise your intensity,” said Turner, who was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in Game 1. “Just being able to win on the road. That’s really important. Beating them on the rebounding battle showed that we can do it.

“It sets the standard for how we need to play in order to win.”

The 2012 NBA Playoffs will open at the United Center in Chicago at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 28. The top-seeded Chicago Bulls will face the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

For the second consecutive season, the Bulls have earned the top overall seed and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Chicago had a 50-win season despite starters Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Richard Hamilton missing a combined 77 games. To have a long postseason run, the Bulls will need Rose, Deng and Hamilton to play well and be in the lineup on a consistent basis.

Philadelphia’s second-year guard Evan Turner, a Chicago native, told ESPN.com’s Scott Powers that he believes the 76ers “match up better against the Bulls” than they do the Heat. He also told the Delaware County Times that Philadelphia will “be able to compete well against Chicago and have an opportunity to win the series.”

Well, Turner and the 76ers will indeed face Chicago in the first round. Whether Turner was asking for this matchup or not, Philadelphia will have to go through the running of the Bulls to make it to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2003, when Turner was just 14 years old.

Philadelphia is a deep, egalitarian-like team that remained relatively healthy throughout the compacted 66-game regular season. They have eight players that average at least 25 minutes a game and seven of them played in 60 or more games this season. The 76ers’ depth and the relative consistency of their lineups and rotations may help them in their playoff run, however long it may be.

Chicago Bulls versus Philadelphia 76ers Eastern Conference First-Round Schedule

Game 1: Saturday, April 28, Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls, 1:00 p.m. ET on TNT