{"id":351970,"date":"2011-03-31T03:26:32","date_gmt":"2011-03-31T03:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/31\/noah-less-bulls-bounce-back-rip-wolves-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-31T03:26:32","modified_gmt":"2011-03-31T03:26:32","slug":"noah-less-bulls-bounce-back-rip-wolves-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/31\/noah-less-bulls-bounce-back-rip-wolves-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Noah-less Bulls bounce back, rip Wolves (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)\u2014Derrick Rose<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Kevin Love<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> have played against each
\nother since their days in AAU ball, worked out together in a steamy Los Angeles
\ngym over the summer, and became fast friends as they\u2019ve emerged as the faces of
\ntheir respective franchises.<\/p>\n

Individually, they are on similar paths. In their third seasons, both have
\nhad career years, with Rose emerging as a front-runner for the MVP award in
\nChicago and Love leading the league in rebounding in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Their professional paths are getting further apart by the day, and Love
\nknows it.<\/p>\n

Rose had 23 points and 10 assists in three quarters and the Bulls blew out
\nthe Timberwolves 108-91 on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Carlos Boozer<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 24 points and 14 rebounds and the Bulls recorded 31
\nassists on 41 field goals to stay 2 1\/2 games ahead of Boston and Miami in the race
\nfor the top seed in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all on the same page, everybody,\u201d Love said. \u201cWhen they break
\nfrom the huddle, everybody\u2019s in. You can tell everybody has the utmost respect
\nfor each other and they\u2019re all in it to win it. In that regard, I envy that. I
\nsalivate for that. I like that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love had 16 points and nine rebounds, but was limited to 27 minutes in his
\nfirst game back from a strained left groin. The Timberwolves (17-58) lost their
\neighth straight game and have sunk to the bottom of the West.<\/p>\n

The Bulls, who were missing starting center Joakim Noah<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> because of a
\nsprained right ankle, bounced back in a big way after a humbling loss to
\nPhiladelphia.<\/p>\n

Two nights after the 76ers snapped Chicago\u2019s 14-game home winning streak,
\nthe Bulls attacked the Wolves from the start, playing a beautifully unselfish
\nbrand of basketball that was on an entirely different level than the home team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re getting better, almost every game,\u201d Rose said. \u201cLast game
\nof course we didn\u2019t do it, but tonight we came out and played aggressive, played
\nwith an edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rose had 13 points and five assists in the first quarter\u2014Wolves point
\nguard Luke Ridnour<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 11 points and two assists in the entire game\u2014and
\nChicago had 17 assists on 22 baskets in the first half.<\/p>\n

The ball movement created wide-open shot after wide-open shot, a cohesive
\nunit dominating a group of individuals in every way, shape and form.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a team right there,\u201d Wolves guard Wayne Ellington<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cThem
\nguys play together, man. All the way around. They play together, communicate.
\nThey do it the right way. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to work toward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bulls shot 50 percent for the game, pulling away in the third quarter
\nwith a 3 by Rose and a drive-and-dish from Luol Deng<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to Boozer that gave them an
\n86-62 lead.<\/p>\n

Ever the demanding coach, Tom Thibodeau stayed on his team to the end, even
\ncalling a timeout with a 20-point lead with six minutes to play when he saw a
\ndefensive breakdown. But, for the most part, he was pleased with the difference
\nhe saw in his team from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought our shootaround was intense, I thought it was serious,\u201d
\nThibodeau said. \u201cI thought our locker room was serious, and I thought the start
\nof our start of the game was serious. \u2026 We established a defensive mindset, a
\ndefensive game plan, and I think that got us going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s blend of strength, quickness and pure speed has proven too much for
\nthe league to handle, and his selfless attitude has transformed the Bulls from a
\nmiddling playoff team to a legitimate contender and the current No. 1 seed in
\nthe East.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at what he\u2019s done with his team, it\u2019s tough to argue D-Rose isn\u2019t
\nthe MVP,\u201d Love said.<\/p>\n

He is also exactly what the Timberwolves are missing. Love is a wonderful
\nsupporting player, but they need a leader, a superstar, a competitor like Rose
\nif they are ever going to lift themselves from the Western Conference basement.<\/p>\n

While Rose had the Bulls humming, with the ball moving, the defense
\nsqueezing and the jumpers falling, the Timberwolves wilted into a one-on-one
\nmess.<\/p>\n

They had just 12 assists for the game and too often settled for jumpers or
\nwild drives to the basket.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor whatever reason, it wasn\u2019t there tonight,\u201d Wolves coach Kurt Rambis
\nsaid. \u201cWe didn\u2019t bring the effort and intensity and focus for the vast majority
\nof the ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Technically, two of Love\u2019s 16 points weren\u2019t his. Bulls forward Taj
\nGibson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> knocked the ball into his own basket with just over eight minutes to play
\nin the second quarter, and Love was credited as the nearest player to the ball.
\n\u2026 Veteran Kurt Thomas<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> started for Noah and hit his first three jumpers. He
\nfinished with six points and eight rebounds. \u2026 Timberwolves C Nikola Pekovic<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>
\nmissed his second straight game with a hip injury.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Original post:
\nNoah-less Bulls bounce back, rip Wolves (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)\u2014 Derrick Rose (notes) and Kevin Love (notes) have played against each other since their days in AAU ball, worked out together in a steamy Los Angeles gym over the summer, and became fast friends as they\u2019ve emerged as the faces of their respective franchises. Individually, they are on similar paths. In their third seasons, both have had career years, with Rose emerging as a front-runner for the MVP award in Chicago and Love leading the league in rebounding in Minnesota<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-351970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\nNoah-less Bulls bounce back, rip Wolves (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\/31\/noah-less-bulls-bounce-back-rip-wolves-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Noah-less Bulls bounce back, rip Wolves (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"MINNEAPOLIS (AP)\u2014 Derrick Rose (notes) and Kevin Love (notes) have played against each other since their days in AAU ball, worked out together in a steamy Los Angeles gym over the summer, and became fast friends as they\u2019ve emerged as the faces of their respective franchises. 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