The Chicago Bulls had a "case of the Mondays" in the first half of the game against the Detroit Pistons Monday at the United Center, but exploded in the second half for the win.
The Bulls pulled past the Pistons in the third quarter with the help of Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng and carried that energy into the fourth to win 95-82. But it didn't go the Bulls' way at the beginning of the game. The first half was rough. The Bulls were sluggish and the Pistons came out swinging outscoring the Bulls in both the first and second quarters.
Frustrations were high at halftime and the Bulls knew they needed to pick up the energy. They were getting out shot, out rebounded and outscored going into the half.
"I thought we were low energy on both ends, defensively and offensively," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Boozer said their performance on both ends of the court frustrated the coach and the team.
"We all came into the locker room pissed off and angry," he said. "Basically we wanted to play better. And we did. In the second half we stepped up to the challenge and played much better."
"Better" doesn't really describe it. "Better" is an understatement. The Bulls were a completely different team in the second half. Especially in the third quarter outscoring the Pistons 33-15. Anger can be a powerful motivator, but the Bulls need to find a way to keep up the energy without the anger. They need it organically. That's where Rose steps in and lifts the team to another level.
"I love the way he's playing for us," Thibodeau said. "I think he's lifted this team to a very high level."
And with Rose's energy leading the team everybody else around him became energized. Boozer attained 27 points and 11 rebounds for another double-double and Deng put up 17 points for the Bulls Monday night.
"I wanted to win," Rose said about his second half performance.
And that's the attitude Thibadeau said he likes about Rose. That and the fact that when he steps up everyone around him does too.
"I have a great respect for him because I know how important winning is," he said. "And he gets as much joy out of his teammates playing well as if it were himself."
Rose scored 29 points Monday night and seven assists.
The Bulls have now won seven games in a row at home and are on a two game winning run so far. They're looking to extend it into a winning streak on the road this week against the Charlotte Bobcats and Indiana Pacers. They have an 8-9 record on the road and are hoping to turn that into a winning record.
"We have a phenomal home record and we have a road record we don't like," Boozer said. "It's not something we're proud of and we have time to change it, but we have to change it now."
The team needs to maintain that energy they had in the second half on the road in order to make that happen.
"We're challenged every night," Boozer said. "I think one of the challenges that we have is to bring that intensity we have at home on the road."
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