{"id":373499,"date":"2011-04-08T03:15:48","date_gmt":"2011-04-08T03:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/08\/bulls-on-verge-of-clinching-easts-no-1-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-08T03:15:48","modified_gmt":"2011-04-08T03:15:48","slug":"bulls-on-verge-of-clinching-easts-no-1-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/08\/bulls-on-verge-of-clinching-easts-no-1-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulls on verge of clinching East’s No. 1 (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CHICAGO (AP)\u2014Derrick Rose<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls<\/a> closed in
\non the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics<\/a> 97-81 on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n

The Bulls\u2019 17th win in 19 games put them four games up on Boston and Miami
\nwith four to play and eliminated the Heat from getting the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

The Celtics, who play the Heat on Sunday, still have a mathematical shot
\nalbeit a remote one.<\/p>\n

But barring a collapse, Chicago will be the top seed in the East.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another step for a team that expected big things after a major
\noverhaul, and all the Bulls have done is deliver their best season since Michael
\nJordan and Scottie Pippen made championship celebrations a regular event.<\/p>\n

Rose was a one-man highlight reel against Rajon Rondo<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> beating him with his
\ncrossover and getting to the rim, particularly in the early going. Rose scored
\n16 points in the first half as the Bulls jumped out to a 48-43 lead, and Chicago
\nregrouped after momentarily falling behind in the third.<\/p>\n

Luol Deng<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 23 points, and Carlos Boozer<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 14 points and 12
\nrebounds.<\/p>\n

Chicago outscored the Celtics 44-22 in the paint, outrebounded them 44-35
\nand held Boston to 38.4 percent shooting.<\/p>\n

Paul Pierce<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> led Boston with 15 points. Kevin Garnett<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored all 10 of his
\npoints in the second half and Rondo finished with seven. Jeff Green<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 10
\nand Ray Allen<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had seven points.<\/p>\n

The Bulls led 48-43 at the half when Pierce made a jumper and Rondo hit his
\nfirst two baskets to give Boston a one-point lead, but the Bulls responded by
\nrunning off 10 straight, a dunk by Deng and floater by Rose making it 58-49
\nmidway through the third.<\/p>\n

It was 61-58 after Glen Davis<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> hit two free throws with just over three
\nminutes left in the quarter when the Bulls started a 13-2 run that stretched
\ninto the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Deng started the spurt with a 3, and he followed a layup by Boozer off a
\nturnover with a steal and layup to make it 68-58 with 1:31 left. Davis hit two
\nfree throws for Boston. But Rose made a 3 with 23 seconds left in the quarter,
\nand Boozer added a three-point play 45 seconds into the fourth to boost
\nChicago\u2019s lead to 74-60.<\/p>\n

Not only were the Bulls facing one of the top teams in the East, they also
\nhonored Pippen by unveiling a sculpture of him during a halftime ceremony.<\/p>\n

NOTES: A Bulls spokesman said chairman Jerry Reinsdorf left a message for
\nGrant Hill<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and spoke to his mother for about 15 minutes, telling her he
\nregretted an incident that happened after Tuesday\u2019s game against the Suns. Hill
\nhad told the Arizona Republic that a fan spat on and cursed him. \u2026 Doc Rivers
\nendorsed Rose for MVP, saying \u201che\u2019s the most valuable player\u201d and endorsed his
\nformer assistant Tom Thibodeau for Coach of the Year while acknowledging cases
\ncould be made for Philadelphia\u2019s Doug Collins and Portland\u2019s Nate McMillan. \u2026
\nRivers said he thinks Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> will be healthy for the playoffs but
\nisn\u2019t sure what to expect from him. The 15-time All-Star returned Sunday against
\nDetroit after missing 27 games because of a sore right leg, but lasted just 5
\nminutes, 29 seconds before leaving again. He did not play against Philadelphia
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Continued here:
\nBulls on verge of clinching East’s No. 1 (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (AP)\u2014 Derrick Rose (notes) scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls closed in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics 97-81 on Thursday. The Bulls\u2019 17th win in 19 games put them four games up on Boston and Miami with four to play and eliminated the Heat from getting the No<\/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-373499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nBulls on verge of clinching East's No. 1 (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\/04\/08\/bulls-on-verge-of-clinching-easts-no-1-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Bulls on verge of clinching East's No. 1 (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"CHICAGO (AP)\u2014 Derrick Rose (notes) scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls closed in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics 97-81 on Thursday. 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