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My favorite teams
Played this game 12 hours ago...let's see how good my memory is.
Bulls clamp down on Nuggets
Bulls clamp down on Nuggets
Despite their poor record, David Robinson and the Nuggets have one of the best frontcourts in the league. Boasting a starting front line of David Robinson and David Lee with Anthony Davis coming off the bench, the Nuggets are never at a loss for interior defense and rebounding, as well as post scoring. However, the Bulls big men proved to be up to the task of slowing down the Nuggets' prolific post presence.
David Robinson was held to just 14 points and 6 rebounds while David Lee had a woeful shooting night, shooting just 4-13 from the field against the quick close outs of Dennis Rodman. Anthony Davis was unable to get anything going off the bench, playing just 22 minutes and scoring 6 points. Meanwhile, Allen Iverson was torching the Nuggets D to the tune of 25 points and 10 assists. Doug Christie added 17 points and 4 steals while Paul Pierce added 22 and 5 rebounds.
The Nuggets put up a strong fight through the first half, taking a slim 1 point lead, but their losing ways prevailed as they were unable to contain Iverson and Pierce in the 3rd quarter as the Bulls pulled away by double digits by the end of the quarter. Earl Monroe bounced back after struggling over the past week with 11 points and 5 assists off the bench while shooting 50% from the field and looking like the Earl Monroe that was contending for 6th man of the year. Billy Walker added 12 points off the Bulls bench in one of his better performances on the season.
"Like we've been saying all season, it's all about the team play," said Tom Thibodeau. "Knowing that they have guys like Earl and Bill and Chuck backing them up, our starters can go all out on the court and not have to worry about losing any ground while they're on the bench. The way our bench works together with each other and the starters has come a long way. I think Billy has really found himself the past month and he's gotten a few good games to prove that. We know what we're getting from everyone when they come into the game and they're able to produce."
"We're just gelling," said Allen Iverson. "We know where each other likes to be out there and we always try to get each other the ball in our comfort zones. Defensively, we're operating as a unit, getting stops, forcing turnovers, being disruptive. It's not just one guy, it's the whole team top to bottom. That's the key."