Andrew's 06 Bulls, Part 2 :: 07/08 (October 2007)

[George7]

Great wins there!!
That pic with Chandler's block is awesome!

[Axel The Great]

Huge scare there with Dorrell Wright's three. Must've been frustrating trying to make defensive stops in that last game. Just three more games to reach the 34-game win streak.

[Andrew]

Great wins there!!
That pic with Chandler's block is awesome!

Thanks, I quite liked the play and was glad that it looked alright on the replay. In NBA Live 06, blocks don't always look so good in instant replay due to the issue of players jumping up too high at times or not appearing to actually make contact with the ball, not to mention clipping through one another.

Huge scare there with Dorrell Wright's three. Must've been frustrating trying to make defensive stops in that last game. Just three more games to reach the 34-game win streak.

Shaq was impossible to contain, although he picked up that block in the first quarter Chandler just wasn't strong enough to keep him out of the paint...though he also hit a few jumpers that he wouldn't even attempt in real life. I was pretty relieved when Wright ended up launching from about 28 feet, though it wouldn't have surprised me all that much if he'd made it. Fortunately, the AI decided to play fair on that one.

[kibaxx7]

Triple-double with 14 steals and then 42 and 16 dimes. Just incredible. Gordon for MVP!

[Andrew]

He's in the conversation, at last.

[Andrew]

March 12th, 2007
Cleveland (81) at Chicago (118)
Gordon has second career quadruple double as Bulls trample Cavs
[ Boxscore ]


Ben Gordon outdueled LeBron, posting his second career quadruple double

Reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month Ben Gordon insists he's not angry or bitter about losing out to LeBron James for the honour in January, nor last month's All-Star snub. His dominant play over the past month and a half however suggest that last year's Finals MVP still feels he has a point to prove.

Gordon became the first player to register a second career quadruple double posting 31 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 12 steals in the Chicago Bulls' 118-81 rout of longtime rival the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tyson Chandler had 16 points and 17 rebounds, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Korver scored 19 points off the bench in the win, while James led the Cavs with 20 points to go along with six rebounds.

Following a 2-2 tie through the first minute and a half of the game, the Bulls raced out to an early lead and never looked back. Cleveland narrowed the gap to four halfway through the first quarter but soon found themselves struggling to score against the Bulls swarming defense, which led to 25 steals and held the Cavaliers to just 40.5% from the field on the night.

"They've got our number right now," LeBron commented after the game. "They've got everyone's number right now." James, a free agent following the season, has been the subject of much speculation and with the Bulls positioning themselves to make a run at a high profile free agent in the offseason, there has been a lot of talk that the King might take his talents to the Windy City. When pressed on the matter, LeBron simply smiled, shook his head and said "Next question."

The Bulls have now won 32 games in a row, just one win shy of the all-time record set by the Los Angeles Lakers back in the 1972 season. They will now have the opportunity to tie the record against the Memphis Grizzlies whose general manager, the legendary Jerry West, led the Lakers to their historic 33 game winning streak along with Wilt Chamberlain.

Notes: Ben Gordon is currently leading the league in points per game (27.9), assists per game (8.5) and steals per game (2.3)...Kirk Hinrich missed his second straight game. He is expected to return to the lineup for the Bulls' next game against the Grizzlies in Memphis...both teams attempted 18 free throws with the Bulls making 13 and the Cavaliers making 14...Chicago edged Cleveland 52-47 on the boards and enjoyed a 22-12 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Current Record: 55-5
Next Game: @ Memphis Grizzlies; 41-17 (March 14th)

[Axel The Great]

Wow, second quadruple-double. Gordon has to be MVP, nobody can top that. Grizzlies shouldn't be a problem to beat in order to reach 33 in a row, but I will knock on wood so I don't jinx it.

[Houndy]

Damn, Gordon is killing the league

[Andrew]

Wow, second quadruple-double. Gordon has to be MVP, nobody can top that. Grizzlies shouldn't be a problem to beat in order to reach 33 in a row, but I will knock on wood so I don't jinx it.

You'd think so, but they are 41-17 so they're right up there with Dallas in the West. Still, I've beaten some strong teams so far in this run so hopefully I don't blow it. I'm certainly hoping I'll get the MVP for Gordon - you'd think with the team's record and leading the league in three categories he'd be an ideal choice - but who knows which way the game will go on that one.

[Andrew]

March 14th, 2007
Chicago (144) at Memphis (97)
Bulls tie all-time win streak in emphatic fashion
[ Boxscore ]


The Bulls are now one win away from setting a new NBA record

For one quarter, it appeared as though the Memphis Grizzlies would make the Chicago Bulls work to tie the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA record for consecutive wins. A second quarter collapse would set the tone for the rest of the game however as the Bulls steamrolled the Grizzlies and now look to make history tomorrow night against the New Jersey Nets.

Memphis scored the first seven points of the game and had Chicago back on their heels, much to the delight of a raucous crowd at the FedEx Forum. With Gordon and Chandler both picking up two fouls in the first quarter, the Bulls somehow managed to fight their way back into the game behind the hot three point shooting of Kyle Korver and strong inside play of Carlos Boozer. Korver made five threes in the game and finished with 17 points off the bench while Boozer had 21 points and 9 rebounds.

Gordon returned in the second quarter and finished the first half with 21 of his game high 30 points, leading the Bulls to outscore the Grizzlies 36-18 in the period. They followed up with a 41-22 performance in the third quarter and from there, it was academic. Gordon, one of the frontrunners for the MVP award, had four rebounds, nine assists and six steals to go along with his 30 points. Kirk Hinrich, returning to the lineup after missing the previous two games, had 15 points and a game high 12 assists as well as four steals.

The Grizzlies' star big man Pau Gasol had a tough night, playing only 27 minutes due to foul trouble and going 5/14 from the field for 11 points, along with six rebounds. Mike Miller led the team in scoring with 27 points on 11/16 shooting and Damon Stoudamire had 16 points and 9 assists, but committed 9 turnovers as the Bulls' swarming defense closed off the passing lanes. Brian Cardinal also added 10 points and 8 rebounds for Memphis.

Notes: The Bulls assisted on 41 of their 57 field goals while the Grizzlies registered 21 assists on 41 field goals...Chicago edged Memphis 37-36 on the boards but the Grizzlies won the battle on the offensive glass, crashing the offensive boards for 12 rebounds compared to six by the Bulls...Memphis currently holds the second best record in the league at 42-18, having overtaken the Dallas Mavericks for the lead in the West. With the loss, they are 13.5 games behind the Bulls who are 56-5...the Bulls shot 63.3% from the field, 52.2% from downtown and 85.7% on free throws. The Grizzlies shot 44.6% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc and were perfect from the line on their eight attempts.

Current Record: 56-5
Next Game: @ New Jersey Nets; 28-31 (March 15th)

[Andrew]

March 15th, 2007
Chicago (114) at New Jersey (111)
Korver's buzzer beater gives Bulls record win
[ Boxscore ]


The Bulls are walking tall after winning their 34th consecutive game

The Ides of March almost brought bad fortune for the Chicago Bulls, but sharpshooter Kyle Korver knocked down a three pointer with 0.2 left on the clock to beat the Nets and give the Bulls their 34th consecutive win to establish a new NBA record. Korver was 4/6 from downtown in the fourth quarter and scored 14 of his 24 points in the final period.

From the opening tip, New Jersey showed great determination and aggressively attacked Chicago at both ends of the court. As Vince Carter commented after the game, "You don't want to be on the wrong side of history. You don't want to be a trivia footnote. We didn't want to just lay down and let them have this one." The Bulls took a six point lead by the end of the first, but the game was only just beginning.

The Nets' assault continued in the second quarter as the Bulls went cold, scoring just sixteen points and scrambling to recapture the lead after the Nets surged ahead. Carter scored 18 points in the first half while Ben Gordon countered with 15 for the Bulls, as Chicago took a slim 49-46 lead into the second half.

Chicago found their shooting form in the third but were outgunned by New Jersey, who were spurred on by a frenzied hometown crowd. Richard Jefferson scored 10 points in the third and Carter added 14 more of his own as the Nets went on a 9-0 run to take a 68-61 lead and a firm grasp of the game, withstanding a small run by Chicago and holding a 78-75 lead heading into the final quarter.

Things looked bleak for the Bulls as the Nets had an answer for every rally and it seemed as though their winning streak was about to come to an end, especially when the Nets took an 11 point lead with a little under five minutes remaining. Refusing to give up, the Bulls made one last push and with back to back threes by Gordon, suddenly found themselves down 105-102 with just under two minutes to play.

It appeared as though New Jersey would outlast the defending champions as they held a 109-105 lead with under minute left. However, Korver made a three pointer to cut the deficit to one and Kirk Hinrich picked off a pass and found a streaking Gordon for a layup to take a 110-109 lead. Hinrich was then put on the line after rebounding a miss by Jason Kidd, where he made one of two free throws to extend the lead to two.

Kidd then made a fifteen footer with 15.6 seconds to tie the game, leading to a Bulls timeout. After the timeout, Ben Gordon took the inbounds pass and set up at the top of the key. The defense collapsed on him as he drove to the basket and he found Korver wide open at the three point line, where he banked in the game winning three. With no timeouts left, New Jersey attempted a three from beyond midcourt but the shot did not come close and was waved off as having come after the buzzer.

"It's not how we wanted to win the game, but you know, what a way to win it anyway," said Gordon, who finished with a team high 35 points. "It just shows you the heart of this team. We want to win every game and knowing we had a chance to make history, there's no way we were going to quit until the buzzer. We stuck together, we played our (behinds) off, then Kyle hit that big three. Incredible."

Carter finished with a game high 38 points for the Nets, who have lost three straight. Jefferson scored 22 points and also had four steals, while Jason Collins had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Ignatius Tallas had six points and a game high 17 rebounds. For the Bulls, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 14 rebounds while Tyson Chandler also had a double double with 15 points and 11 boards.

The Bulls will now have a couple of days rest before taking on the Toronto Raptors at home this Sunday. The Bulls have won both of their previous games against the Raptors this season.

Notes: Both teams struggled to take care of the ball, with the Bulls committing 27 turnovers and the Nets committing 28...the Nets had a significant advantage at the foul line, with 28 attempts compared to just 12 by the Bulls. Chicago connected on nine of their attempts while New Jersey made 22 foul shots...New Jersey outrebounded the Bulls 48-43 though the Bulls had an 18-15 edge on the offensive glass.

Current Record: 57-5
Next Game: @ Memphis Grizzlies; 28-31 (March 15th)

[Axel The Great]

Congrats on breaking the 33-game win streak! What a way to break the record, with a buzzer-beating three. That buzzer-beater may not have been needed if it weren't for the sloppy ball handling, but either way, good to see the record finally broken.

[Andrew]

Thanks, it was quite a relief to make the comeback. With a lot of dominant wins it was nice to be challenged (even though some of the challenge wasn't exactly fair at times!) and I don't have a whole lot of game winners, so that certainly made things special. It remains to be seen how much further I can push the streak but seeing as though the next one is at home, I'd like to at least get to 35.

[Houndy]

Nice job on breaking the streak. A dramatic win.

[kibaxx7]

Great job posting a new record. There's no reason to believe you won't make the streak even bigger!

[Martti.]

Kyle is really killing the opponents! I think it's late for him to run for the 6th man award.

[rise]

Congrats on the record Andrew!

Push your streak until the end of the season!!!

[Andrew]

Thanks everyone. I'll certainly try, I'm not one for losing games for the sake of losing them, but that's a tough call. We'll see how things go though.

[Fresh8]

Congratulations on finally setting the new win streak record.

Now all you need to do is get Ben Gordon MVP! And I reckon keep winning games until the cpu stops you!

[Andrew]

Sounds like a good plan to me.

[Andrew]

March 18th, 2007
Toronto (97) at Chicago (105)
Bulls overcome slow start and Bosh's big game, win 35th straight
[ Boxscore ]


Chris Bosh turned in a dominant performance, but the Bulls prevailed for the win

The Chicago Bulls overcame one of their worst first quarter performances of the season and a monster game by Chris Bosh to defeat the Toronto Raptors 105-97 to claim their 35th consecutive victory. Ben Gordon scored a game high 39 points and added 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals in the victory. Bosh led the Raptors with 32 points and had a game high 19 rebounds along with two blocked shots.

After both teams got out to a sluggish start, the Raptors found their rhythm and began pulling away from the Bulls, who struggled to score and only had eight points on the board with a little over three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Gordon missed his first four shots of the game and was scoreless through the first twelve minutes as the Raptors soon had the Bulls down by double digits. Chicago were just 6/22 from the field in the first quarter.

Toronto's run continued in the second as poor shooting and defensive lapses saw the Bulls trail by as many as 16, when rookie Liu Kuffour was fouled on a three point shot and made all three free throws for a 38-22 lead. As he's done so many times this season however, Gordon came alive upon re-entering the game and scored 18 points in the second as the Bulls fought back to cut the lead to 48-46 heading into the second half.

The Bulls came out strong in the third and took the lead early, though the Raptors were not about to quietly into the night and took it back behind the strong play of Bosh and sharp shooting of Morris Peterson, who finished the game with 20 points. A couple of defensive stops allowed the Bulls to regain and maintain the lead until the end of the quarter though, as both teams prepared for a furious finish.

Chicago entered the fourth quarter with a five point lead but with Gordon taking a breather to begin the period, were unable to build upon their advantage and Toronto seemed poised to take control of the game once more. Led by Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng, the Bulls managed to keep the Raptors at bay and Toronto would not come closer than three points the rest of the way. Hinrich nailed a three to give Chicago a 96-90 lead and followed up with a steal and assist to Gordon for a layup to take a firm grasp of the game in the waning minutes. Chicago would then seal the game from the free throw line.

Hinrich finished with 16 points, five assists and four steals while Deng had 21 points on 10/14 shooting. Carlos Boozer had 12 points and three rebounds for the Bulls while Tyson Chandler had a team high 13 rebounds to go along with six points and two blocks. Kuffour scored 16 points and dished out eight assists for the Raptors but turned the ball over nine times before fouling out. Former Bull Chris Duhon had six points and nine assists.

Notes: Chicago were 1/11 from three point range in their dismal first quarter and ended up making 6/25 on the game. The Raptors were 1/12 from downtown...Chicago were 15/17 from the foul line while Toronto made eight of their nine free throw attempts...the Raptors won the battle of the boards 38-33, also edging the Bulls at the offensive end 13 rebounds to 11...Chicago were whistled for eight fouls while the Raptors committed 17.

Current Record: 58-5
Next Game: @ Houston Rockets; 33-30 (March 19th)

March 19th, 2007
Chicago (109) at Houston (99)
Bulls outlast Rockets, extend record winning streak
[ Boxscore ]


Kirk Hinrich set the tone early for the Bulls

Despite cutting the lead to five with a strong run late in the fourth quarter, the Houston Rockets were unable to overcome the visiting Chicago Bulls who extended their record win streak to 36 games. Ben Gordon led all scorers with 26 points to go along with eight assists, while teammate Kirk Hinrich had 22 points (including 12 in the first quarter) and a game high ten assists along with three steals.

The Bulls shot 64% in the first quarter and appeared to be setting the tone for a blowout victory early, holding a 26-12 lead six minutes into the game. Spurred on by the hometown crowd, the Rockets battled back and cut the deficit to seven before the Bulls ultimately took a nine point lead into the second quarter. Hinrich led the way for Chicago as Gordon got off to a slow start shooting the basketball and picked up two early fouls.

Chicago maintained control of the game through the next two quarters and entered the fourth quarter with a seemingly comfortable 85-69 lead. Led by Tracy McGrady, who left the game in the third quarter after bending back the index finger on his shooting hand in a tough collision with Hinrich, the Rockets mounted a comeback and managed to come within five in the final minutes before Gordon's late three put the game out of reach and forced Houston to foul, allowing the Bulls to extend the lead at the foul line. Gordon scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead Chicago to a ten point victory.

Notes: Houston had the advantage on the boards, outrebounding Chicago 39-32. They also had 12 offensive rebounds compared to eight by the Bulls...the Rockets were 18/21 on free throws while the Bulls made 10 of their 13 attempts at the foul line...Yao Ming missed his fifth straight game with a back injury sustained in the Rockets' 76-52 victory over the Detroit Pistons on March 9th. He is expected to miss up to three weeks...five Bulls and six Rockets scored in double digits in the game.

Current Record: 59-5
Next Game: vs Washington Wizards; 24-37 (March 22nd)

[Axel The Great]

Good to see my Rockets at least put up a fight. If Yao would've been healthy, your streak would've ended at 35. Still, Swift somewhat made up for his absence.

[Andrew]

Quite possible, but they still had a shot and didn't get the job done.

[Phil89]

That first quarter against the Rockets really set up the win for you.

36 wins in a row is amazing. An NBA record surely?

[Andrew]

Yep, besting the real life record by three wins to date. It almost ended at 33 though, if not for some late game heroics and a game winner by Korver.