Exhausted Bulls have nothing left
He’d just come from an arena packed with fans to a crowded locker room, but all Joakim Noah wanted to do was be alone.
Minutes after his Chicago Bulls lost a 109-99 decision to the Celtics in Game 7 Saturday night, Noah sat at his locker with a towel over his head. He didn’t speak to anyone, but he didn’t have to. His body language said it all.
He was done.
After pushing the Celtics to the brink of elimination with seven overtime periods in the first six games of the series, the Bulls finally came up short in Game 7. Noah collected 15 rebounds against the Celtics in Game 7 but fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Brad Miller, another thorn in Boston’s side all series, fouled out as well. The Bulls use only seven players in their rotation, and on this night they came up short.
“We just couldn’t make enough shots to put any real pressure on them,” said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. “Give the Celtics a lot of credit. That’s why they’re the defending world champs.
While Noah sulked just a few feet away, rookie Derrick Rose met a throng of media. Rose, who looked like the next great superstar in Game 1, had 18 points, 3 assists, and turnovers in Game 7. Rose refused to blame fatigue for the loss.
“I’m only 20, so I don’t get that tired,” said Rose. “I’m blessed to be in the playoffs and going against the champs my first year so I can’t do nothing but get better from it.”
Several other Bulls, including guard Kirk Hinrich, emphasized the theme of experience as well.
“It’s hard right now to put it in perspective,” said Hinrich. “You have to tip your hat off to them. They’re a good team. You never feel good about a loss, but there are so many young guys in this locker room. We can build on it.”
Said Del Negro, “It’s a great learning experience. Especially going through what we went through, all the overtimes, all the close game, I feel like we’ll get better.
“I just hope [future playoff series] are a little easier than this.”
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