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The situation the Chicago Bulls found themselves in on Wednesday night was nothing new to this squad. In fact, it’s seemed to be a recurring theme for them. You could almost script out how the game would end. The Bulls battled through a rough shooting night, but they scratched, clawed and scrapped all night long to hang around. They battled through a few Miami runs and put together a couple runs of their own, and Taj Gibson came out red hot to start the fourth quarter. Gibson put down a hammer of a dunk with 7:16 remaining in the game for Chicago to pull even for the first time since the early minutes of the second half, erasing what was once an 11-point deficit. The crowd erupted and came to their feet, almost sensing what was about to happen. This is the part where the Bulls pull away. This is where they ‘beat the Heat’ and put them in a 2-0 hole. They even made another spectacular play moments later when Omer Asik blocked Dwyane Wade on a layup, and the crowd was really roaring. Here comes the run. But it was not to be. To use a cliché, the Bulls couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat in the last 7 minutes, hitting just one field goal attempt out of 11. Miami wasn’t much better, shooting 4-for-10 over that stretch, but LeBron James hit a huge 3 to put the Heat in front and Wade turned a reach-in foul into a shooting foul by jumping after the whistle. He hit both free throws and the Heat never looked back. They pulled away down the stretch for an 85-75 win, one that evens the series at a game apiece and gives home court advantage to Miami.

The biggest key for Miami down the stretch was that they finally managed to limit the Bulls’ offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities. Chicago dominated Miami with 19 offensive rebounds in the first game, and were rolling in that category again on Wednesday with 16 through 3 quarters, but they were held to just one in the final frame, and it was after the game was out of reach. “When the ball was up on the board, they were in the fight,” commented coach Thibodeau. The Heat actually outrebounded the Bulls overall in this one, but much of that was due to the overall abysmal shooting night for Chicago. The Bulls shot just 34% from the floor for the game, and just 3-for-20 from beyond the arc. It also didn’t help that Chicago missed 10 of their 26 free throw tries. The poor shooting coupled with Miami finally boxing out and getting after the boards down the stretch snowballed into the crushing defeat for Chicago. “We’re going to have to make corrections, learn from it, and do a whole lot better down there,” explained Thibs. “We have a lot of things to clean up.” In contrast to the way the Bulls shot, Miami made 47% of their shots from the floor, including 50% or better shooting from all of the ‘big 3’ players. LeBron James totaled 29 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Miami while fighting through a cold. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and 9 boards, and the Heat got an unexpected lift from Udonis Haslem off the bench who put up 13 and 5 on 5-of-10 shooting after not really playing for most of the playoffs.

“He was the player of the game,” boasted Dwyane Wade. “That’s what we’ve been missing out there all year without him.” Coach Spo spoke even more highly about Haslem: “He’s an absolute championship warrior. Really, what he did tonight, it’s remarkable. Now I question myself for not trying him earlier.” Haslem missed most of the season with injury, and only saw a couple of minutes in the Boston series and at the tail end of game one, but he provided a big boost for Miami in game 2. The Bulls had a dominant advantage in bench points in the first game, but in game 2, Haslem’s 13 had the gap at 20-17, really negating a huge advantage the Bulls have in this matchup. “My main focus tonight was not on scoring,” claimed Haslem. “It was on defense and rebounding. When a shot went up, I was just trying to put a body on guys. If I couldn’t get it, make sure those guys couldn’t get it.” If Haslem continues to play the way that he did in game 2, the Bulls may really struggle to pull this series out. “He’s one of those guys you can’t measure statistically,” lauded coach Thibodeau. “He brings a lot of toughness to their team. High energy guy, terrific defensively, that’s the way he plays.” One thing he also brings is leadership. He did a great job of keeping his guys focused in a huddle late in the game, telling his teammates, “No rebounds, no rings. We can’t win this series without controlling the boards.” That kind of presence can go a long way towards pulling this team together into a cohesive unit, which is something Chicago doesn’t want to see. This series has been billed as a great team against a couple of great players. If Haslem helps the Heat gel into a team, it certainly can be trouble for the Bulls.

What could be even more trouble for the Bulls is their woeful shooting touch. The Bulls were absolutely atrocious shooting the basketball on Wednesday, and low shooting percentages have become a trend for Chicago. Derrick Rose was just 7-for-23 from the field en route to a team high 21 points, and the others were equally as bad. Boozer was 3-for-10, Deng was 5-for-15, and usually sharpshooting Kyle Korver was a miserable 1-for-7, including 1-for-5 from three. “It was everybody just missing shots that are normally just easy for us,” lamented the MVP. It just seemed all night that there was a lid on the rim as one shot after another went in-and-out of the bucket. “We executed, we had good looks,” claimed Deng. “We just have to do a better job of hitting our shots.” A lot of credit was given to the Miami defense for keeping Chicago’s field goal percentage low, but the Bulls contributed to that number quite a bit themselves with open misses. I can’t imagine the Chicago Bulls will shoot this poorly again in game 3, but there were certainly some other flaws that hurt the Bulls on Wednesday.

The Heat really seemed to take charge of this game midway through the third quarter with a 10-0 run that was fueled by the fast break. The Heat turned a block, 2 steals and a missed Ronnie Brewer jumper into 4 straight fast break buckets, two of which were augmented into 3-point plays by a foul. With athletes like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem on the floor, you simply cannot let these guys get easy points out in the open floor. It’s Miami’s bread and butter, and stretches like this can kill Chicago the way they did on Wednesday. “If you put them in the open floor, you’re at a huge disadvantage, particularly if they’ve generated speed,” explained Thibodeau. “You have to take that away.” It will be on Derrick Rose and the rest of the team to not to turn the ball over and give the Heat the opportunities to get out and run as the series progresses.

In order for the Chicago Bulls to bounce back in this series, they will have to ramp up the intensity and find a way to score on the offensive end. While things didn’t bounce the way Chicago would have liked in game 2, they also weren’t happy with their effort. “We played low-energy offense,” stated Thibs. “We played low-energy defense, and the result was not great. I thought it was too easy to start the game for them. I thought they got their confidence early. They had a big second quarter, and I think that got them going. It starts with our defense. Our defense and rebounding are two things we have to be able to count on.” Neither was at peak performance in game 2, and the Bulls will have to search for a way to improve both areas. “We can’t afford to go out there and play like this,” said MVP Derrick Rose. This is the part of the year that all of the work all season long was aimed at. The goal was to be ready for this, and there is no excuse for not having enough energy in these games. “It’s the playoffs, it’s not meant to be easy,” quipped Luol Deng. “Those last 4 or 5 minutes, if you’re tired and you’re at home, you’ve got to find a way to win that game.”

Game 3 will by no means be a series clincher, but it would be pivotal if the Bulls can pull off the victory. They would steal back home court advantage and have a chance to take a commanding lead back home for game 5. When asked if he would be happy with a split in Miami, Carlos Boozer had a quick response: “We want to win every game we play.” If the Heat win game 3, the Bulls will still have an opportunity to pull the series even and regain home court before the return to the United Center. The only thing that is certain about game 3 is that it will be ugly, and it will be intense. “That fourth quarter is probably what’s going to epitomize this entire series,” suggested coach Spoelstra. “It’s an absolute street fight for both teams. It’s physical basketball, defensive-oriented teams.” Both teams have their individual areas of focus (for the Bulls shooting better, limiting fast break points, and tightening the defense, and for Miami continuing to limit offensive rebounds and getting the stars going early) but it is going to come down to which team has more fight left in them down the stretch. The Bulls have prided themselves all season long on working harder than their opponents, and they have to continue to do that if they want to be able to douse the flames of the Heat. They’ve never shied away from hard work before, and I don’t expect them to start now. “We’re definitely confident,” asserted Rose. “I know we just can’t wait to go out there and play again.” They’ll have to wait ‘til Sunday, but the battle these teams go through will almost certainly be worth the wait.

It took the Chicago Bulls 5 games to learn not to overlook the Indiana Pacers and look ahead to the rest of the playoffs. It only took them 1 game to forget that lesson. After sputtering and struggling at both ends of the floor for four games against Indy, the Bulls finally put together a great performance in game 5 to close out the Pacers. The team seemed relieved after the win, and coach Thibs explained that all year the team took things step-by-step, and when they started paying attention to the talk that they would roll through Indy and looking ahead, that’s when the struggles occurred. They finally got focused for game 5. Just six days later, the Bulls are overlooking yet another underdog opponent. The Bulls came out lazy on defense and rusty on offense early in game one, and the Atlanta Hawks took advantage, beating Chicago 103-95 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Joe Johnson scored 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and was an unconscious 5-for-5 from 3-point land. Jamal Crawford had a hot hand as well, scoring 22 points off the pine for Atlanta.

The key to the game was Atlanta getting off to a fast start and setting the tone early. The Bulls lackluster defense allowed Atlanta to shoot 59% from the field in the first quarter while building a 10 point lead, and they shot a miserable 29% themselves for the quarter. “That [the start] was critical,” explained Hawks coach Larry Drew. “When we start a game out fast, we get the shots we want and play defense. Psychologically it turns everything around in our favor.” Nobody on the Bulls seemed to know why they came out so flat in this game, but they weren’t making excuses either. “We had a hard time scoring, and a hard time defending to start the game,” said Thibodeau. “We were not challenging shots, we were not keeping the ball in front, we were not finishing our defense, and we played low energy offense. You can’t do that in the playoffs. Crawford and Joe Johnson got wherever they wanted. We brought that on ourselves.” Despite getting off to the slow start, the Bulls did manage to get themselves back into the game. The “Bench Mob” came up big in the second quarter with energy and defense and got the team going. The Bulls shot 57% in the 2^nd and cut the lead down to just one point at the break, but the defense still wasn’t great, as the Hawks shot over 50% in the quarter as well.

The Bulls finally seemed to really get things going early in the third. Rose scored 3 straight Bulls buckets to open the half, Boozer followed with 3 straight of his own, and a Noah dunk moments later gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the night up 6 with 4:11 to go in the third quarter. Joe Johnson went back to work however, scoring 8 of Atlanta’s final 12 points in the quarter and leading them to a 1-point lead going into the 4^th. The Bulls committed a couple of foolish fouls down the stretch in the third, one giving Joe Johnson a 3-point play on a short jumper, and the other putting Zaza Pachulia on the line with less than a second remaining in the frame, and his 2 free throws put Atlanta ahead for good. The beginning of the 4^th quarter resembled the start of the game, as the Hawks scored the first 8 points of the period and 15 of the first 19, building the lead all the way up to 12 points. Chicago never got it closer than 6 after that. Crawford and Johnson combined for 21 4^th quarter points in putting the game away. There was no late rally in this one for Derrick Rose and the Bulls, who made a habit of those in the first round and throughout the regular season. The loss gives the home court advantage to the Hawks, and increases the confidence of an Atlanta team that seems to have plenty of it right now.

This game had to feel like a huge monkey off the backs of the Atlanta players, since they are fighting a lot of history here. The franchise had lost 15 straight second round playoff games, including being swept out of the second round by Orlando and Cleveland the last two seasons. As a matter of fact, this is the first time the Hawks have led a second round series since 1988, and they haven’t advanced past this round since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams. Throw in the somewhat surprising stat that no number 5 seed has ever gone to the NBA finals, and it seems like a lot of chips are stacked against Atlanta. They seem to be just fine with that. It lets them fly under the radar. When asked if he thought the Hawks were underestimated coming into the playoffs, Joe Johnson’s answer was simple and a bit understated: “Yes, but we’re a confident group. As long as we’ve got each other’s backs in the locker room, we could care less what they say about us.” The team’s actions don’t really back up Johnson’s words. They say that they don’t care what people say about them, but I believe Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson would disagree with that. After a game against Chicago on April 10^th, Nelson could be heard on the TV broadcast telling Derrick Rose that “We’ll catch you in the second round.” They were already slated to play Atlanta in the first round, and were clearly giving the Hawks very little respect. Well, after beating Orlando and sending Nelson home, the Hawks left 4 tickets for him at will call for the game Monday night so he could still catch Rose in round 2.

The Bulls lone standout performer in game one was Luol Deng, who scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds. Derrick Rose’s final numbers looked good with 24 points and 10 assists, but he shot just 11-of-27 from the field and a miserable 0-for-7 in the opening quarter as well as having a couple of bad turnovers. Rose also failed to get to the line even once, which is a clear sign that he wasn’t being aggressive enough. The lack of aggression may have been a result of the Bulls’ poor defense. Rose loves to get out and run in transition, and a lot of his free throws come from catching defenders out of position on the break. It’s hard to get out on the break without stops. “What happened tonight,” explained Deng, “is that they’re making shots and we were going against their set defense. We weren’t going out there and running, and we are at our best when we get out and run.” One bright spot for the Bulls came in the 3^rd quarter performance of Carlos Boozer. Boozer was questionable for the game with a toe injury, but played and was very effective in the second half after struggling early. He ended up with 14 points and 8 rebounds, but certainly appeared healthy. He even jumped to grab a rebound after the halftime buzzer had sounded. The Bulls got a real scare in the waning seconds of the game as Derrick Rose stepped on Jamal Crawford’s foot and came up limping on the same ankle he sprained against Indiana, but he should be ok for game 2. “It’s fine,” insisted Rose, “I just took my time walking off.” The Bulls can ill-afford to lose Rose now that the team is behind by a game.

While everyone in the Bulls’ locker room has a theory for what went wrong on defense in game one, no one seems to have an explanation as to where the Bulls’ edge from game 5 against the Pacers went. “I don’t really know the reason why,” stated Rose. “Coach always says play with an edge. It wasn’t there tonight.” Luol Deng had an almost identical response: “I don’t know. We’ve got to play to what we’re capable of, we can’t measure the games. We’ve got to get back to playing with an edge.” Coach Thibodeau was equally dumbfounded. When asked where the edge was Monday night, Thibs answered, “That’s a great question. When you are coming off 3 days of practice and 2 days prior to that off, you should have high energy and high intensity. We didn’t have that. If you don’t have that edge, you are asking for trouble. Chicago had better find that edge, and quick. Game 2 already looks like a must-win for the Bulls. You can’t fall behind 2-0 when the first two games are at home. That is an almost impossible hole to climb out of. It’s time for the Bulls to show what they are made of.

All season long, the Bulls have played championship caliber basketball by following a simple formula. They always take things one game at a time, they play smothering defense, they dominate the boards, and on offense, they run through MVP Derrick Rose. They seem to have forgotten that formula in the playoffs. Through 6 games, they have played smothering defense just once and dominated the boards only twice. That is not Bulls basketball. The team is in a debilitating identity crisis that is fueling the confidence of a very dangerous and hungry Atlanta team. Now is the time for Coach Thibodeau do demonstrate why he is coach of the year, and for the Bulls to remember how they got to 62 wins and the overall number one seed. If they can’t wake up for Atlanta, they don’t need to worry about what will happen with Boston, Miami and L.A. down the road, they’ll be headed home early. Was game one a wake-up call? “I hope so,” answered Rose.” I just hope we don’t wake up too late.” This is a critical point in the season for these young Bulls, and how they respond Wednesday night should go a long way toward telling us if this team is ready for the championship stage this season. Professor Thibs needs to get back in the lab and resurrect that formula that has made the Bulls the best team in the league, or the Hawks might be giving the Bulls tickets to watch them play next round.

At the beginning of the season, LeBron James was the standout choice to win the NBA most valuable player award, but Derrick Rose did not want to be overlooked.  "Why can't I be MVP of the league?'' he asked reporters.  Rose is now in a heated battle for the MVP award with James.

Derrick Rose is a more deserving MVP than LeBron James.  He is averaging 24.6 points, 8.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, which is slightly worse than James, who averages 26.3 points, 7.1 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game.  Even though Rose has lower stats, his value to the Chicago Bulls cannot be measured simply by statistics.

With about a quarter of the season remaining, the MVP race appears to highlight Rose and James as frontrunners.  Each player has a great deal of talent and seem to be putting together remarkable seasons.  However, Rose is far more important to the Bulls than James is to the Miami Heat.

The 22-year-old Rose is a dynamic point guard with incredible court vision.   He is a solid shooter and an amazing ball handler.  Most importantly, he is a vibrant leader and a fierce competitor that knows how to generate a productive offense on the basketball court.  He has made the Bulls relevant again with a chance to win the Eastern Conference.

Derrick Rose is often the target of many defenses because with the ball in his hands, he controls his team’s destiny more than almost any other point guard in the NBA besides Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo.

"I think anyone who's watched and seen the things he's done from the start of the season until now, I can't imagine anyone doing more," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told the Daily Herald about Rose.

James has been the popular pick for the MVP for most of the season, and rightfully so.  He has found himself on one of the most publicized teams in the NBA this season because of the plethora of talent that the Heat brings to the court.  He has won the MVP award the past two seasons, so he cannot be overlooked.

However, James has been almost detrimental to his team at times.  The Heat, predicted to be the best team in the NBA at the beginning of the season, have shown that they are flawed.  With a record of 43-20, they have lost four straight games.  LeBron has missed crucial game winning shots in the final seconds of four of their past five losses.  To win the MVP award, a player must be able to lead his team and carry the pressure.  In the past two seasons, James has shown that he can be a go-to guy in the closing minutes of a game.  He used to take the game into his hands and earn wins for his previous team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.  James has shown that he is not that guy this season.

LeBron is still an amazing basketball player, but Rose has proven that he can take games into his hands and carry the Bulls to victory.

The MVP is awarded to the player who is “most valuable” to his team.  Without Rose, the Bulls would be lacking consistency and a strong leader on the court.  Without LeBron, the Heat could turn to fellow all-stars Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh.  Rose was the only all-star this season for Chicago, while Miami sent three to Los Angeles.  Rose is vital to the success of the Bulls, making him the best fit to win the MVP award this season.

In LeBron’s defense, Rose lacks defensive skills compared to other elite players, and his statistics are not as efficient as LeBron.  However, Rose has proven that he is an effective leader after the key injuries of Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer forced Rose to manage the offense.   Rose is the main reason that the Bulls are in second place of the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics.

Although James is one of the most adaptable players in the league, he often relies on his teammates to pick up his slack when he is not performing.  Rose does not have this luxury, he cannot take a break.  His high level of energy and effort on the court are unmatched by LeBron this season.  With such a supporting cast, LeBron knew entering this season that an MVP award would be hard to achieve.

"When we (James, Wade, Bosh) decided to come together our Most Valuable Player chances kind of went out the window," James told AOL news.

In head-to-head competition this season, the Bulls have beaten the Heat three times.  On Sunday, Rose had 27 points and 5 assists while LeBron scored 26 with 6 assists.  This win marks the fourth time in the past six games that the Heat have lost a game that they were leading by double-digits.  It’s as simple as this; MVPs don’t give up substantial leads in important games.  Both teams were vying for second place in the Eastern Conference, and the Bulls proved themselves to be the better team and Rose proved he was the better player.

The Heat, led by LeBron, is 1-9 against the top five teams in the league.  Their lack of production against quality opponents is one main reason that LeBron is not deserving of the MVP award.  The Bulls are 6-5 against the top five teams in the league with Rose at the point.  The ability to perform in pressure situations this season is what separates LeBron James and Derrick Rose.

The performance by Rose this season has shown that he is deserving of the MVP award over LeBron, who has not been the player who is most valuable to his team this season.

Derrick Rose vs. Dwayne Wade, a Kyle Korver game-winning three-pointer and two of three "Heatles" injured pretty much sums up Saturday night at the United Center. But that still doesn't do the night justice. 

Emotions were high at the United Center as the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat met for the first time this season. The Heat played the villains of the NBA and the Bulls the hometown heroes. Between the cheers and boos there was hardly a quiet moment at the arena on Saturday night when the Bulls beat the Heat 99-96.   

The Bulls are hot at home and are now on an eight-game home winning streak. They've also won two of their last three. Without LeBron James the Heat fall to 2-3 on this road trip and are now on a three-game losing streak. It doesn't help that Chris Bosh also limped out of the United Center with a sprained left ankle. He put up 17 points for the Heat before leaving the game at the end of the third quarter. 

The talk of Miami is "the Heatles," James; Dwyane Wade and Bosh, and their ability to play together and as a team. But forward James Jones, who started for the injured James, said every player has a role on the team despite having the "big three" playing for them and team play is improving. 

"Our chemistry is getting better," Jones said. "Individually we're surrounded by great guys so it's easy to get along and then on the floor, you know, as we go through these adverse times we'll build character and we'll build trust that will help us continue to grow as a team."  

He also said the players know one another and every one has to step in to help out with the injured James and now injured Bosh. He said not just one individual can fill what those players bring to the table. But he also said it is a team effort on the court. 

"At the end of the day the three of them don't win or lose by themselves," Jones said. "We all do collectively." 

It was evident Saturday night that after snubbing Chicago in the off-season, none of the "big three" were welcome at the United Center. Well, the one's who played anyway. 

But all the off-court drama and fan reactions didn't seem to matter Saturday night to Wade, who put up 33 points against Rose, who also put up 34 of his own. It seemed the scoring between the two would never end when it came down to the wire. 

"Two great players, one great play after the next," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said about the match-up tonight. "They both have the ability to make something out of nothing."

Even teammates had a hard time from "becoming fans" as Korver put it. 

"It's very easy to get caught watching," Korver said. "Cause it's very easy to all of a sudden become a fan. Because that was incredible." 

Between reverse lay-ups, jump shots and three-pointers it was like they were the only two on the court at the end. That is up until the last play of the game when Korver sunk his game winning three-pointer. But being the talk of the game doesn't matter to him. He's just happy to contribute.  

"That's my role," Korver said. "Come in and make those shots and space the floor and things like that. You know ball ends up in your hands you just gotta be ready." 

The Bulls did take one hit tonight when Carlos Boozer apparently rolled his left ankle on one of the last plays of the game. The extent of his injury is not known. 

The Bulls travel to Memphis on Monday to play the Grizzlies before coming home for a six game home stand. 

"I'm ready to be home for a while," Korver said. "...We've been on the road all year it feels like." 

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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NOTE: Follow us on Twitter at Buzz_Chi_Sports. We'll keep you updated on sports news and live tweet from the Bulls' games this season. 

It was an Eastern Conference showdown with two power teams battling it out on the boards, but only one came up a winner; the Chicago Bulls. 

The Bulls overpowered the Boston Celtics, the current top team in the Eastern Conference, 90-79 after losing two of their last three meetings and breaking a two-game road losing streak. Carlos Boozer attained another double-double in points and rebounds, and Derrick Rose scored a team high 36 points. Despite a big game from those two players the Bulls still won as a team Saturday night.

The Celtics snuck out to an early six point lead, but the Bulls were relentless and stuck with them throughout the first half.  

"I like the way we played tonight," Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls head coach, said. "I thought we played a well balanced game."

And they did. The Bulls played well on both offense and defense, with the exception of 21 turnovers, resulting in 19 of the Celtics 79 points.

"I didn't like the way we took care of the ball," Thibodeau said. "The turnovers were a problem for us." 

Not much of a problem though. The Bulls ended up pulling off a "W" against a team that has won 7 of its last 10 and scored over 100 points in their last two games . The Bulls held them to a meager 79 points Saturday night. 

Kurt Thomas, the Bulls' center, said that "mistakes are gonna happen" but they need to cut down on the mistakes and quit forcing plays. 

"[We need] to continue to just protect the ball," he said. 

Thibodeau also said the team had a lot better energy tonight than they did in their last two appearances.

The Bulls showed more energy coming out of halftime than they have in the previous two games against the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. In both games the Bulls were outscored 32-18 in the third quarter. The Bulls were only outscored coming out of halftme 21-22 Saturday against the Celtics. 

"At least we're making progress," Thibodeau said with a smile.    

That they are. Leaps and bounds of progress. Beating the top team in the conference was huge step in the right direction. Thibodeau called it a great test for the Bulls. 

"They're obviously a team that's had a lot of success. They're having a great year," he said. 

Thomas also commented about the third quarter issues the Bulls had against the Nets and 76ers.

"We felt we had two bad third quarters in those two losses," Thomas said.

But he went on to say the offense wasn't the issue it was the defense.

"We just felt we made those corrections locking down on the defensive end of the court," Thomas said. "We felt the offense was fine and just continued to do what we've been doing out there and executing and just sharing the ball with each other."  

He went up against Shaquille O'Neal, who sat the bench after four personal fouls and only after 19 min., on the offensive and defensive ends of the court tonight and out rebounded him eight to four. But talking to Thomas it's not about the match up, it's about the result. 

"It's just a game," he said. "Just doing whatever I can to help my team win. It's not really about a battle between me and Shaquille. I'm just trying to be aggressive and do whatever I can to help my team win." 

The defense from the past couple of games needed work though. Boozer said that's exactly what they did. 

"We put a lot into it," he said. "We did a great job of talking out there. Trying to see the play that they're gonna run before it happens...and we were well prepared."

Holding the Celtics to only 79 points was an exciting feat, Boozer said. He added they played as a team tonight and won as a team. But "looking forward" they need to continue to play like they did Saturday night. 

"If we can play the Celtics like this we oughta be able to play every team like this," Boozer said.

The Bulls face the Detroit Pistons on Monday. The Pistons just snapped a three-game losing streak of their own and are looking to continue it against the Bulls. The two teams have already played twice this season and the Bulls have won both encounters.

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Just before tip off, the singing of the national anthem takes on a more meaningful feeling during wartime. I notice a feeling of pride and determination especially during the last few bars when Bulls fans’ cheers drown out the rest of the song.