As Brooklyn jumped out to a 17-5 lead, Bulls fans became a little worried of what the night may bring. Then, as quickly as you can say changing of the guard, it was 33-21 Bulls late in the second quarter, taking advantage of a Nets shooting drought. Much of the rest of the game had a similar story. Luol Deng scored 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter, at one point outscoring the entire Nets team during that frame. Brooklyn saved itself from that kind of embarrassment by finishing with 18. The fourth quarter saw them make a game of it as the Bulls went into a dry spell of shooting themselves. Once the lead was cut down to three with 14.4 seconds to play, the nerves started to pick up. After Nate Robinson and Joakim Noah split trips to the free throw line, the Nets had one last chance to send the game to overtime. The man to take the game-tying three was none other than C.J. Watson, who air mailed his attempt as a reminder of why he wasn't the right man to fill Rose's shoes last postseason.
Deng's 21 were topped only by Carlos Boozer's 22, made possible by 9-of-15 shooting and going 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. No one had a better overall shooting night, which tells you that this game would give your average college game a run for its money. The two starting forwards also combined for 26 rebounds, letting you and I know that everyone needed to be ready for missed shots all night. Kirk Hinrich scored 12 and, coupled with Watson's two, it really makes you wonder if the Bulls would have beaten the 76ers last year if Hinrich was Rose's primary backup instead. Noah's only point was the late free throw on a night when he was 0-of-7 from the field. The plantar fasciitis is a good excuse for him. All the Bulls really need out of him is minutes, so anything else he gives is gravy. Then again, maybe he'll suddenly heal to the point where he has everything working in his arsenal at the same time.
Not to take anything away from this win, but for the last two games, the Nets have provided a textbook example of how not to shoot in the postseason. Their 35 percent shooting compared to 40 for the Bulls last night sounds like a small different, but that number for them was in the 20s at one point. They were lucky to stay in the game until the very end because on most other nights, it would have been a blowout. P.J. Carlesimo said it best: "When all is said and done, we have to make some shots."
The Bulls will need a better offensive game if they want to win this series. These dry spells are not going to cut it every night and they eventually hurt you. They have the defense down pat and can force the Nets out of their comfort zone. Eventually though, every NBA team will break out offensively, so they can't let up. And of course, more points are needed for your own sake. Game 4 will provide the best opportunity for that. They're in front of their home crowd and a win would put you in command of the best-of-7. Keep playing to your strengths and don't make your offensive chances more difficult than they have to be. If you can, you have a very good shot at moving on.
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