NBA -- Rose sprains ankle, Bulls bow to Cavs in OT
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 02 Nov 2014
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls let a five-point lead slip away in the final 47.1 seconds of play and the Cleveland Cavaliers took full advantage by scoring a 114-108 overtime victory on Friday night at the United Center.
Stinging as the loss was, it came secondary to the health concerns on star guard Derrick Rose, who sprained his left ankle and was rendered ineffective in the second half. Rose scored 18 points through three quarters before leaving the game for good..
X-rays taken in the arena were negative and Rose told reporters inside the Bulls locker room, "Don't worry, it's just an ankle sprain."
"It's basketball. It ain't like I tore something, or tore a ligament or something. It's just that I sprained my ankle and I had to sit it out. It's minor," Rose added.
After a Kirk Hinrick jumper gave them a 98-93 advantage with 47.1 ticks remaining, the Bulls appeared headed to their second straight to start the young season. But the wheels fell off from there as the Cavs rattled five unanswered points to force overtime.
LeBron James was spectacular for the Cavs with 36 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Kyrie Irving had 23 and 10 assists while Kevin Love had a solid 16 points and 16 rebounds despite missing 12 of 17 field goals, including a 3 that could have given Cleveland the outright win in regulation.
Rose and Taj Gibson each finished with 20 points to lead the Bulls. Pau Gasol tallied 15 while Mike Dunleavy Jr had 14. Both big men also pulled down nine boards each.
The Bulls made only 41 of 90 field goals (45.6 percent) and 11 of 31 triples (41.9 percent). But their inability to control the rebounds -- they were outrebounded 20-9 on the offensive boards --- contributed largely to their defeat.
"It was the difference in the game and I thought, the second shot. They had the 5-point lead, 40 seconds into overtime and we had some reckless fouls," a disappointed Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said in his postgame press conference.
The 1-1 Bulls travel to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves today while the 1-1 Cavs travel to Cleveland for a date with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Nov. 4. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: LeBron James fades away from Taj Gibson during the Bulls-Cavs tiff at the United Center on Friday night. The King finished with 36 to lead his team to a 114-108 overtime victory.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Homer D. Sayson.
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