Stephen Curry Derrick Rose

In what could be a NBA Finals preview, the Chicago Bulls have made their way to the West coast for a showdown with the Golden State Warriors. The Bulls would be without their rising star, Jimmy Butler who is missing the game due to an illness. On the other hand, the Warriors would be without Andrew Bogut; they pursued their 20th straight home victory.

1st Quarter

The Western Conference Player of the Week began the scoring for the Warriors with back-to-back three pointers and mid range jumper. Stephen Curry knocked in his first attempt to give the Warriors an 11-7 lead. Both teams were scoring at will by shooting and making shots at a high clip. Klay got off to a terrific start by shooting 6/6 from the field and 3/3 from long range for 15 points before missing his first bucket. Although the defense was there, offense came easy for both squads. Curry found a hustling Harrison Barnes for a beautiful half-court alley-oop. With four minutes left in the quarter, David Lee, Justin Holiday, and Andre Iguodala have made their way off the bench and onto the floor. At the end of the first, the Warriors led 35-29 behind Klay’s 15 points from his hot shooting. Steph also pitched in with 10 points and 7 assists.

2nd Quarter

The second quarter began at a slower pace with the offenses finally settling down. Barnes came alive and scored 8 points in the quarter to become the third Warrior in double figures. The Bulls weren’t intimidated with the high-octane Warriors and kept up. The Warriors’ 10 point lead dwindled down to two after eight consecutive points from Nikola Mirotic, Derrick Rose, and Pau Gasol forcing Kerr to call a timeout. With three minutes left, the game became knotted up at 49 a piece. Thompson’s timely 3-ball regained the lead for the Dubs. Golden State led 56-51 with 20 points from Klay.

Capture

3rd Quarter

The game kept it’s intensity and both teams buckled down. Scoring continued to slow as the Warriors struggled with size without Andrew Bogut. Turnovers and missed open jumpers have derailed momentum. Chicago began to utilize their size and play down on the blocks first. With four minutes remaining, the Splash Brothers have combined for 1-9 from behind the arc after starting 5-6. Rose’s crossover and layup gave the Bulls their first lead of the second half. Lee imposed his threat by scoring 9 of his 15 points in the gritty third. Warriors lacked their three point shooting but still led 81-79.

4th Quarter

The Warriors were off to a quick start in the final period. David Lee looked like a new man and Steph Curry kept feeding him. He had the dime of the night after an Iguodala steal and Oracle erupted. The Warriors went up by eight, but you knew the Bulls would have a response. Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol fueled a 6-0 run and all of a sudden it was a one point game. The Warriors responded with two straight buckets and the lead was four. This was coming down to the wire. The Warriors couldn’t hit a triple, but they did a good job attacking the basket. Down one, the Warriors got the stop and it all seemed over, but Curry turned the ball over and the Bulls hit a triple. The Warriors had 12 seconds to tie the game.

Overtime

The Bulls got on the board first in the extra period. Chicago’s defense was a problem for the Dubs and it also didn’t help the Warriors shot 0 for 14 from three point land. The Bulls were also getting a lot second chance opportunities and this is where Andrew Bogut was really missed. Green came up with a clutch steal, but the Warriors could not take advantage of it. Rose came back with a deadly step back jumper and the Warriors were down two with seven seconds left. Klay Thompson had a good look at the basket, but could not convert.