Bulls Waste 42 Points and Jordan-esque Effort By Rose and Lose To Pacers In Overtime

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. This one is going to sting for a while for the self-critical NBA MVP leader Derrick Rose, although the truth is, what more can one man do?

On a night where the Bulls were without starter Carlos Boozer and the Bulls' usually deep bench shot a combined 9 for 28 (32%) from the field AND the Bulls went into the 4th quarter trailing by 16 points, the Bulls ended up having a chance to win this game.

After Michael Jordan sang his praises less than one week ago, presumptive NBA MVP Derrick Rose did his best homage to the NBA legend by taking over the fourth quarter for the languishing Bulls.

DRose poured in 19 points in the 4th quarter to force OT and matched his career-high with 42 points for the game.

With the Bulls looking up at a 16 point deficit to end the 3rd quarter, Rose knew it was time for him to take over. In Jordan-eque fashion, Rose scored 19 of the Bulls 29 points in the 4th quarter, including sinking 3 from the free throw line with 1.2 seconds remaining to tie the game up at 102 - 102, and force overtime.

It seems that Rose was spent from the effort as the Bulls were outscored in the overtime period 6 - 13 by Indiana. Rose scored 4 of the 6 points in OT to finish with 42 points, to tie his career high, along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.

Luol Deng was the second highest scorer for the Bulls with 21 points on 7 of 18 shooting, but he shot a combined 0 for 5 from the field in the 4th quarter and overtime.

A lot of credit is due to the Indiana Pacers, who currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the East and who may have approached this as a statement game against the Bulls. Chicago, if they win the race for 1st place in the East, would then have to face the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.

For now, the loss drops Chicago back into a statistical tie with Boston, pending the outcome of their matchup with the Houston Rockets tonight.