OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry sat in on the coaches meeting Friday, studying, planning and preparing to do something few others have done this season: Stop Derrick Rose.
The game plan worked to near perfection.
Monta Ellis scored 33 points, Curry had 23 and the
Golden State Warriors smothered Rose defensively to snap Chicago's six-game
wining streak with a 101-90 victory over the Bulls on Saturday night.
"I thought our guys followed (the plan) to a T
and kind of bottled him up a little bit," Warriors coach Keith Smart said.
"We couldn't let him get his game going early, and that's what he's been
able to do against a lot of teams. He sets the tone for their team. We had to
make other guys make plays."
They didn't.
Instead, Ellis and Curry sparked a 15-0 run in the
fourth quarter that sealed Golden State's third straight win in one of its more
impressive defensive efforts of the season, swarming Rose and forcing the All-Star
guard into a season-high nine turnovers.
The Warriors mixed up coverages and swapped
defenders to give Rose looks he said he's never seen.
"I couldn't get a feel for the game because
they didn't let me," Rose said. "I couldn't get to the hole. It was
hard but I'll figure it out. It's just something we have to look at on film and
see who's the open guy."
Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 10 rebounds and
Rose finished with a quiet 14 points and 10 assists for the Bulls, who were
playing only their second game of a critical road stretch. They were never in
rhythm and fatigued early, dropping their first game in more than two weeks.
This was hardly the kind of effort a Chicago team
looking to be considered one of the NBA's elite wanted to show.
Even not at their best, the Bulls took a 75-74 lead
on Boozer's jumper with 10:54 remaining. Then it all came crashing down with a
spotty defensive effort against one of the more prolific scoring teams.
The Warriors ran off 15 straight points behind
Ellis and Curry, who had 13 points during the run. The undersized guards blew
by Rose and Co., pulling away for an easy victory.
"I thought our turnovers put them into the
open court and then in the fourth quarter we just played poorly," Bulls
coach Tom Thibodeau said. "That's it."
Surely this one left the Bulls frustrated.
They have quietly stayed in the thick of the race
for the Eastern Conference's top spot despite being short-handed for most of
the season, with Boozer missing the first 15 games because of a broken bone in
his right hand and Joakim Noah out until after the All-Star break recovering
from thumb surgery.
They just never could stay consistent against
Golden State.
Rose had his usual eye-popping plays, perhaps the
best coming on a twisting layup over — and around — Warriors center Andris
Biedrins that even brought Golden State fans to their feet. Kyle Korver
followed with a pair of 3-pointers, and Chicago went ahead by 12 points in the
second quarter.
All that was quickly erased with a technical foul
by Boozer and an uncontested dunk that Ronnie Brewer short-armed and missed
badly. Ellis rallied the Warriors with some stealth offense, slicing through
the paint for layups and dunks to give Golden State a 48-47 halftime lead.
The Warriors stayed steady from there and finally
showed some fight during their longest homestand of the season.
Golden State has only two games left in a stretch
of 13 of 14 at home, and they're 7-5 so far. Chicago and Utah are their only
victories during the stretch against teams with winning records.
"Definitely the biggest win," said Warriors forward Dorell Wright, who added 20 points. "Just the level they're playing, the roll they're on, the way Derrick Rose is playing, this is definitely the biggest win by far this year."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/Ben Margot)
