While the buzz in the United Center after the Chicago Bulls` 104-99 victory Saturday was how physical the Pacers were with Derrick Rose, the Bulls guard had just one thing on his mind. 
“I feel good and can’t wait to go eat,” Rose said after scoring 39 points in the come-from-behind win. Rose was 19-of-21 from the line, connecting on two more free throws than the Pacers attempted. The number of Rose’s attempts had Pacers coach Frank Vogel biting his tongue, seemingly afraid that candor could lead to a fine.
But if Vogel thought Rose got the benefit of the doubt from officials, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau felt otherwise.
Thibodeau was not surprised that the Pacers were trying to make things difficult for Rose.
“That’s the way it is. That’s the way it’s been all year,” Thibodeau said. “I trust that they’ll make the calls, and he’ll go to the line, and 19-of-21 is very good.
“That gets their big guys in foul trouble. We have to stay aggressive and keep them in foul trouble.”
The Pacers were one of the more physical teams Rose faced during the regular season, so it was no surprise to see Tyler Hansbrough`s hard foul on Rose with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter. It led to Luol Deng standing up for his teammate and drawing a technical foul.
But Rose said he didn’t feel beaten up afterward.
Photo: (J. Daniel/Getty Images) – D. Rose #1
“It was pretty physical, but from my working out and lifting weights, I’m feeling fine,” Rose said. “Tomorrow it may be a little different. I knew they would be that way when I went to the basket. I knew they would be physical, but I still tried to get to the basket.”
Pacers never felt comfortable with Rose.
Indiana Pacers forward D. Granger sounded as if his team needed a protection order to stop the Chicago Bulls` Derrick Rose.
Indiana led most of Saturday’s game until Rose took charge in the fourth quarter and ignited a 104-99 Bulls win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Rose finished with 39 points.
“It’s like a crazy, stalker ex-girlfriend. Every time you tell her you don’t want to talk to her, she shows up at your door again. We kept making runs one after another and they kept coming back.”
Rose: We`ll learn from this one
D. Rose said the Bulls are going to learn a lesson from Game 1 of their series against
The Indiana Pacers, and he knows his Chicago Bulls are fortunate they’re not learning from a loss.
Rose scored 39 points in a 104-99 victory on Saturday, which was in doubt until late in the fourth quarter.
“We came out sluggish, they got the lead and we couldn’t get it back till the end of the game,” Rose said. “But we’re going to learn from this, watch film, come together and try to control the next game.”
The Pacers led the entire first half. It wasn’t until Kyle Korver`s 3-pointer, off a nice assist by Rose, gave the Bulls a 102-99 lead with 48 seconds left that Bulls fans started to breathe easier.
“Kyle was open, and he’s a knockdown shooter,” Rose said.
Photo: (G. Dineen/Getty Images) – L. Deng #9 , C. Boozer #5
Source: ESPNChicago.com