{"id":312628,"date":"2011-03-16T03:51:30","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T03:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-16T03:51:30","modified_gmt":"2011-03-16T03:51:30","slug":"bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CHICAGO (AP)\u2014Even a shortage of big men couldn\u2019t slow the Bulls\u2019 march to
\nthe top of the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

Derrick Rose<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 23 points in Chicago\u2019s seventh straight win, a 98-79
\nvictory over the Washington Wizards<\/a> on Tuesday night that moved the Bulls into
\nsole possession of first place in the East.<\/p>\n

Luol Deng<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 20 points and Keith Bogans<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 17, his highest total
\nsince joining the Bulls. Bogans took all of his 10 shots from behind the 3-point
\narc, hitting a season-high five.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great team,\u201d said Bogans. \u201cThe guys know when a player goes
\ndown, somebody else has to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bogans has been the target of criticism, mostly because his scoring average
\n(4.1) is low for a starting shooting guard. While Tuesday\u2019s game might quiet
\nsome of that commentary, Bogans says it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t frustrate me at all,\u201d said Bogans. \u201c(As long as) I\u2019m being
\ntalked about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bulls (48-18) moved a half-game ahead of the Boston Celtics<\/a>. Chicago has
\nnot held the East\u2019s top spot this late in the season since 1997-98, the season
\nthe Bulls won their sixth NBA championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening right now is everyone is talking about us,\u201d Deng said.
\n\u201cHuman nature is that it\u2019s easy for us to fall into that trap of thinking we\u2019re
\ngoing to walk out there and win. That\u2019s not the case. We have a lot of work to
\ndo.\u201d<\/p>\n

If two teams finish tied, the first tiebreaker is based on head-to-head
\nresults. The Celtics have won two of three against Chicago this season, but the
\nteams play once more, at the United Center on April 7.<\/p>\n

Washington center JaVale McGee<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had a rare triple-double with 11 points, 12
\nrebounds and 12 blocks, the most by an NBA player since Toronto\u2019s Keon Clark had
\n12 on March 23, 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three (blocks) the first quarter and I was trying to match that in
\nthe second quarter and I had seven, so I was like I\u2019m going to try and get 14,\u201d
\nMcGee said. \u201cIt was working for me tonight. I was blocking so good in the first
\nhalf people were starting to hesitate and were more afraid to go up and it was
\neasier to block shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bulls jumped to a 31-19 lead in the first quarter with little resistance
\nfrom the Wizards, who fell to 1-30 on the road. Chicago outrebounded Washington
\n17-5 in the opening period despite the absences of center Joakim Noah<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and power
\nforward Carlos Boozer<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rookie Jordan Crawford<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 27 points and played all 48 minutes for the
\nWizards, who have lost five straight and 12 of 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the NBA it can be a 360, and the next day you never know what can
\nhappen,\u201d said Crawford, who was recently traded to Washington from Atlanta,
\nwhere he wasn\u2019t getting much court time. \u201cLuckily I was ready. I want to feed
\noff this game and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGee fell just short of the franchise record for blocks in a game. Manute
\nBol swatted 15 shots for the then-Bullets on Feb. 26, 1987. It was the most
\nblocks a player has had against Chicago in a regulation game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d like to see (McGee) do that more,\u201d said Washington coach Flip
\nSaunders. \u201cConcentrate more defensively and protect the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGee achieved his triple-double with a dunk 18 seconds to play, after which
\nhe received a technical foul for hanging on the rim.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the hardest one point I ever tried to make in my life,\u201d McGee
\nsaid. \u201cIt was crazy, but I got it. It was a dunk of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crawford heated up in the second quarter against the Bulls\u2019 reserves,
\nscoring 15 points in the period on 5-for-6 shooting and hit a jumper from the
\nright wing that brought Washington within 47-46 with 1.1 seconds left in the
\nhalf.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur second quarter was very poor,\u201d said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. \u201cOur
\nfloor balance was bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kurt Thomas<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, putting the Bulls up 50-46 at
\nthe break. It was Thomas\u2019 first 3-pointer since April 10, 2005.<\/p>\n

The Bulls pulled away with a 25-14 third period, highlighted by Deng\u2019s 10
\npoints. Bogans\u2019 3-pointer with 2:56 left put Chicago up 71-55, its biggest
\nadvantage to that point.<\/p>\n

The Bulls have won 10 of their last 11 games and improved to 30-4 at home.
\nOnly San Antonio (31-3) had done better on their home floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feed off the fans,\u201d Rose said. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for them, we wouldn\u2019t be
\nplaying the way we\u2019re playing. The energy in the arena is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago played its third straight game without Boozer, who sprained his left
\nankle in a win over Charlotte on March 9. Boozer, who didn\u2019t dress for the game,
\nwas seen limping toward the Bulls locker room before the game. A timetable for
\nhis return has not yet been established.<\/p>\n

Noah missed the game because of flu-like symptoms. Noah was sent home from
\nthe team\u2019s shootaround on Tuesday morning after reporting that he wasn\u2019t feeling
\nwell. The illness isn\u2019t believed to be serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing hard,\u201d Rose said. \u201cAll the people that came in filled
\nthose spots. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wizards suited up just nine players, six of which were rookies. It could
\nhave been worse as John Wall\u2019s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> availability was in question before warm-ups.
\nWall had some soreness in his foot, which was stepped on during Washington\u2019s
\nloss to Oklahoma City on Monday. Rashard Lewis<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (knee), Cartier Martin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (knee),
\nJosh Howard<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (knee), Andray Blatche<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (shoulder) and Nick Young<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (flu) were all
\nunavailable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started three rookies,\u201d Saunders said. \u201cWe had a lot of opportunities
\nto fold, especially the we\u2019ve played the last week or so. I thought our guys
\nplayed hard. We just ran out of gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Only one team has gone 1-40 on the road since the NBA went to an
\n82-game schedule in 1967-68: the Sacramento Kings<\/a> in 1990-91. \u2026 Legendary soul
\nsinger Aretha Franklin sat courtside for the game. She received a standing
\novation from the crowd at the United Center after her image was flashed on the
\nscoreboard while her famous song \u201cRespect\u201d was playing over the arena\u2019s sound
\nsystem.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Link:
\nBulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (AP)\u2014Even a shortage of big men couldn\u2019t slow the Bulls\u2019 march to the top of the Eastern Conference. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nBulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Bulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"CHICAGO (AP)\u2014Even a shortage of big men couldn\u2019t slow the Bulls\u2019 march to the top of the Eastern Conference.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/3e639b0e56d6b86d961.jpg-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Bulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-16T03:51:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/\"},\"wordCount\":1066,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/3e639b0e56d6b86d961.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/16\/bulls-move-atop-east-extend-streak-to-7-ap\/\",\"name\":\"Bulls move atop East, extend streak to 7 (AP) - 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