Bulls Win Game 5, Keep Series Alive

The Bulls pulled out a 77-69 win over the visiting 76ers on Tuesday night, keeping the series alive.  The Bulls still trail the best-of-seven series 3-2, but the game last night gave Bulls fans some hope and something to be happy about after the funeral procession of the last ten days. 

It started in Game 1 with reigning MVP Derrick Rose's torn ACL.  From there, things got worse as the Bulls got absolutely worked over by Philly in the second half of Game 2 in a 109-92 loss.  Games 3 and 4 brought more frustration as sloppy play and winnable games slipped through the Bulls' hands, especially Game 4 that saw the Bulls blow a big fourth quarter lead and go down 3-1 in the series.  But Tuesday night saw the Madhouse on Madison rocking, as Luol Deng finally showed up, Carlos Boozer played well, and Taj Gibson brought the toughness on defense the Bulls desperately needed.  I gave Deng and Boozer credit, but I truly admired the way Gibson played.  8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks are decent, but his impact on the game was felt more than the box score would even suggest.  Deng and Boozer combined for 43 points, but Gibson's defensive presence was outstanding, and the 76ers only shot 32.1% from the field.  It was refreshing to see the defense come to play last night. 

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Philly wants to close this, and their crowd will be surely behind them.  However, the Bulls have to believe they can win Game 6 and send it back to Chicago for a seventh game.  Philly is the eighth seed for a reason.  They have more flaws than the other teams in the Eastern Conference, especially shooting the basketball.  The Bulls have to make them settle for jumpers and limit the transition points and easy buckets in order to win this one.  It may sound obvious, but they have to do this.  Taj Gibson has to be big again, and I think the Bulls will need some kind of scrum or spark to fire them up like last night.

I am being honest in saying that I believe I was one of the few who had hope that the Bulls could still win this series coming into Game 5.  Even Chicago beat reporters and radio announcers were saying this team was done.  They may be trying to be realistic, but I'm an optimistic guy who sees the 50-16 record this season and knows this team has too much pride and care for each other to simply roll over in Game 6.  They could get blown out and I could be wrong, but I'd rather be right if they end up winning this series than caring about what others thought was inevitable.  I will be into the game tomorrow and really waiting to see how the Chicago Bulls respond with their backs to the wall again. 

Let's go Bulls!