More on this once the series ends:
• Nobody gave the Bulls a chance in Game 3, but they fought back and won anyways. They could have quit at any point during that game, when they were down double digits in the first half, when Wade started getting hot in the fourth quarter, or when the refs started giving Miami a little home town edge, but the Bulls never quit during Game 3, and now can close this puppy out with a sweep on Sunday.
• When the Bulls needed to score, it was Gordon and Hinrich coming through. Deng has received so much national attention throughout this series, but Gordon has proved himself as much as anyone. He’s now a go-to NBA scorer. People forget he averaged over 21 a game, the only other player shorter then 6’3 to do it was Iverson, but he had his ups and downs during the regular season. This was his breakout year, no doubt, but he missed five+ game winning shots, yet never stopped taking them. That’s a scorer’s mentality. He might not make it look as easy as Kobe, LeBron, or Wade, but Gordon can hang in there with the best scorers in the NBA.
•Tomorrow the big question is going to be: Did the Bulls win this game or did the Heat lose it? I hate these kinds of questions because, of course, it’s always a mixture of both, and that was the case in Game 3. The Bulls played great in the second half, but Jeez, if Dwayne Wade can make a free throw this game might have turned out differently. As a team the Heat only shot 45% from the foul line and that kept the Bulls in the game the whole way.
The Bulls have certainly sent a message this series, dismantling the defending champs. There isn't much I can say but wow. I will post (when the series is official) my "I was wrong" post about the Bulls (which will hopefullly be offset by my "I was right" post about the Nets and Warriors), but Gordon did his thing.
I still have no high regard for Hinrich's jumper, and I still think the Bulls need a low post presence. But if Gordon and Deng keep hitting big shots, Detroit is gonna have to step up!
And I can't complain about the refereeing yesterday - it seemed pretty even overall. Yes, the Heat should have hit their free throws, but the bottom line is they blew a big lead to a team that isn't an offensive-minded team. The Bulls did what they had to, and props to them.