Derrick Rose extends winning streak vs. Chris Paul
The Los Angeles Clippers moved closer to the NBA spotlight just before the season began by trading for former New Orleans point guard Chris Paul.
The new nickname for the Clippers is “Lob City,” based on the expectation of Paul throwing passes for alley-oop dunks to all-star Blake Griffin and athletic center DeAndre Jordan.
There was some of that when the Bulls beat the Clippers 114-101 Friday night.
On the first possession of the game, Joakim Noah stumbled on defense, giving Griffin a free path for a two-hand monster slam. Then Griffin scored in the post against Carlos Boozer and Mo Williams drained a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 7-0 lead with just over a minute played.
The Clippers led by as many as 8 points at 13-5, but the Bulls survived the early flurry and took a 25-24 lead with 1:16 left in the opening quarter when Derrick Rose drained a 3-pointer.
The Rose vs. Paul matchup merited attention, but Rose had never lost an NBA game to the smaller veteran guard. The Bulls went 6-0 against the Hornets the past three years, though Paul missed two of those contests with injuries.
Rose finished with 29 points, 16 assists and 8 rebounds. His career-high in assists is 17 at Milwaukee on March 26 of last season.
The Bulls finished the third quarter with a 6-0 run to lead 83-77 heading into the fourth. Griffin connected on 14 of 25 field goals and finished with 34 points and 13 boards. Jordan, meanwhile, was in foul trouble most of the night.
Veteran guard Chauncey Billups did not dress because of a groin injury. The longtime Detroit teammate of Hamilton started the first two games of the season for the Clippers.
The Bulls pulled away early in the fourth quarter thanks to Rose getting to the foul line and finding teammates for 3-pointers. Ronnie Brewer and Luol Deng each knocked down 3-point baskets to send the lead to double digits. Then the Bulls went ahead 100-86 with 6:47 left when Rose found Kyle Korver for a corner 3-pointer.
After the Bulls beat Sacramento 108-98 on Thursday, coach Tom Thibodeau complained about the small number of free throws attempted by Rose, who was 10 of 11 from the line against the Clippers.
In the first three games, Rose went to the line a total of 10 times, even though he made an effort to be more aggressive against the Kings.
“He’s got to drive with more force I guess,” Thibodeau told reporters after the game. “Sometimes I think him being such a nice guy goes against him too. He’s driving the ball. ... He’s attacking the basket. He’s getting hit sometimes. We got to have him continue to do it and generate the force and force them to make the call, because right now he’s not getting the call.”
After finally completing the four-game California swing to open the season, the Bulls will finally play at the United Center on Sunday against Memphis. Philadelphia is the only other NBA team that has yet to play a home game.