Bulls miss genuine opportunity to take control, now they need momentum again
CHICAGO — Not long ago the Bulls felt the elation currently cloaking the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Derrick Rose didn't call glass, but his three-point buzzer-beater to maintain homecourt advantage counted nonetheless. Up 2-1 in this riveting Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bulls had a chance to drive a stake into the reeling Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. Kyrie Irving was hobbled from a foot strain. LeBron James felt something similar after rolling his left ankle late in the third quarter.
The Bulls were up by seven entering the fourth quarter, 12 minutes from securing a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. It would've been an unprecedented position for Chicago, which had lost in five games to James' outfits in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
But then James, who always maintained his youthful disposition even though hardened by past NBA failures, reverted back to his childhood.
"It's something as a kid, you play outside, you play outdoor ball, you play on the garage and you just count five … four … three … two … one. You make the noise and everything," James said.
Instead of making the noise, James silenced it in Chicago.
Tied at 84, the Cavs were gifted a de-facto timeout after rookie Nikola Mirotic blocked James' driving attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining (both teams were out of timeouts at that point). Ironically, given the outcome, veteran coach Tom Thibodeau recognized the situation and immediately called his team together to discuss preventing any decent shots. It was rookie coach David Blatt who was given a clipboard after a few imperative moments by an assistant once it became clear that the officials were reviewing who had touched it last.
"To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it," said James, who revealed that he was initially supposed to inbound the ball. "I told coach there's no way I'm taking the ball out unless I can shoot it over the backboard and it'll go in."
Matthew Dellavedova led James to the corner after he'd jabbed toward the lane with defensive blanket Jimmy Butler guarding him. James caught it, hopped back, loaded and fired. Shot goes in, it's 86-84. Ball game.
"It was a tough shot. You saw him fading away from the three-point line. What do you think we should've done better?" vented Taj Gibson, who guarded Dellavedova on the game's final play despite tweaking his knee in the fourth quarter, then heaved both his shoes toward the corner of the Bulls' locker room, uninterested in reliving their failed opportunity.
The frustrating part from Chicago's perspective was that the game probably shouldn't have hinged on James in the corner. For the second consecutive game, Irving wasn't his normal self. He took two shots and had two points in 20:05 of the second half. His injury was so inhibiting that the Cavs opted to guard Rose with Dellavedova for parts of the second half.
James, despite his heroics, finished 10-of-30 from the field. His 17 second-half field goals eschewed efficiency for necessity. As a team, the Cavs took 25 three-pointers and made five. Furthermore, the Bulls had two separate leads of eight (in the first half) and 11 with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Yet neither lead held.
The latter was extinguished by the sweet-shooting stroke of J.R. Smith. Smith hit all four of his jumpers in the fourth, including three three-pointers. The Bulls' defense wasn't poor on the closeouts, but Smith's shots were simply better. And as the Cavs clawed back, Chicago's offense withered.
"Yeah, I mean we've been like that all year. We just can't step on people's throats," Mike Dunleavy said. "Just too many stagnant possessions. Just kind of been our Achilles' heel on the offensive end. It's not surprising, it's disappointing."
The Bulls shot 5-of-19 in the fourth quarter while Rose and Butler were a combined 4-of-13. Neither facilitated the Bulls' offense as much as they took on the Cavs' defense individually. On the other end, there were significant defensive stands, including two charges against James, but they hardly erased the extended offensive droughts that kept Cleveland alive.
While Thibodeau was understandably frustrated, it was Game 3's hero who reminded everyone the importance of a short-term memory.
"It's very important (to forget about it) when you lose on that last shot. It's nothing you can do about it," Rose said. "He hit a great shot. He's a hell of a player."
Now a best of three series, following back-to-back game winners from two former MVPs, Thibodeau reflected on how evenly-matched both teams seem to be.
"I thought the last two could've gone either way," Thibodeau said. "They were hard fought. They're a great team. We know we have to play well. It should be a hell of a series."