Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks Game 1

The Chicago Bulls were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks in game 1 of the Eastern conference semi-finals. The Bulls fell 103-95 and are in a 1-0 hole in the series. The Atlanta Hawks raced out to a 9-0 lead in the early going and Atlanta never really looked back. Atlanta led the Bulls at half-time 51-50 and it looked the Bulls would get back into it in the third quarter, but both Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford would turn the Bulls away. Joe Johnson could not be stopped as he finished with 34 points on 12-18 shooting. Jamal Crawford also had 22 points off the bench for the Hawks. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 24 points and 10 assists. Luol Deng had 21 points and Carlos Boozer added 14 points. The Bulls allowed the Hawks to shoot a staggering 58% from the three point line in this game. For the Bulls, Derrick Rose did not get to the free throw line at all in this game and they only shot 16 free throws after averaging 29 a game in the Indiana series. Tom Thibodeau received his coach of the year award before the game and Derrick Rose was named the MVP after the game. The MVP turned his left ankle in the final seconds of the game during a meaningless play. The Bulls need to become more aggressive and play tougher defense on both Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. The Bulls are down 1-0 and they will be looking to even the series at 1 game a piece on Wednesday night at the United Center.