Chicago Bulls showed up in the playoffs

ATLANTA -- Finally, the real Chicago Bulls showed up in the playoffs.Naturally, Derrick Rose led the way.Looking every bit like the MVP, Rose sliced up Atlanta for a career-high 44 points as the Bulls seized control of the Eastern Conference semifinals with their best performance of the postseason, romping to a 99-82 victory over the Hawks in Game 3 Friday night."He's tough to cover anyway," said Atlanta's Jeff Teague, who had the futile task of trying to guard Rose much of the night. "But when his jump shot is falling, he's the MVP."The Bulls lead the series 2-1, putting Atlanta in a must-win position heading into Game 4 Sunday night.Chicago Bulls Jerseys Rose was dominant from the opening tip, slashing into the lane for a basket that prompted Atlanta to call a timeout before game was a minute old. He finished off the Hawks midway through the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers, hopping down the court, serenaded by chants of "MVP! MVP!" from a hefty contingent of Bulls fans.
The Hawks' fans began heading for home. Teague was about the only highlight for Atlanta, scoring 21 points. That wasn't nearly enough against the D-Rose onslaught. He made 16 of 27 shots from the field, including four 3s. He dished out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds, came up with a steal -- heck, he even blocked a shot.After struggling to put away Indiana in the opening round and losing at home in the opener of this series, the Bulls looked every bit like the team that won 62 games during the regular season. NBA Jerseys While everyone will point to Rose's performance, the Chicago bench played a key role in a decisive second-quarter spurt. And everyone chipped in on the boards, leading the Bulls to a 47-34 edge that included 18 offensive rebounds.The Hawks hadn't played a home playoff game of this magnitude since 1997, when this same scenario presented itself after Atlanta split the first two games in Chicago against the Michael Jordan-led Bulls in the East semifinals.
The Hawks stunned the Bulls in Game 1, and kept it close most of the way in Game 2 before losing by 13. Atlanta returned home with plenty of confidence, believing it survived Chicago's best punch and showed it could match up just fine with a team that won 18 more games during the regular season."Yeah,Christian Audigier Men Jeans, I just wanted to get my groove back," he said. "Knock it down. NBA Jerseys From China That's all I was trying to do."You have to match their effort and energy," the coach said. "If you don't do that against this team, you put yourself behind the 8-ball."Rose was virtually a one-man team in the first quarter, scoring 17 points to push the Bulls to a 29-23 lead.Teague, who wouldn't have been playing much if not for an injury to Kirk Hinrich, kept up his strong play from the first two games. He scored 11 of Atlanta's first 17 points but couldn't keep the Hawks in it all by himself.And, boy, he sure could've used some help at the defensive end trying to guard Rose. Teague, who did a respectable job on the Bulls star in Chicago, was left standing in his tracks over and over, unable to keep Rose from doing pretty much whatever he wanted.