Game 3: Chicago 108, Sacramento 98 - "We are going to ball."

Who knew it was so simple?

DRose would say after the game:

“I told you from the beginning I was going to be more aggressive and attack the hole. We were running and playing in a groove. When we are aggressive, we’re great. We are going to ball.

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

And as it was said, so it was meant to be. There was ball, oh yes, there was ball.

...and it was good.

DRose would score 8 points in the first quarter, and the Bulls would rip off a 19-2 run ending in a 30-24 lead.

Once the tone was set, there were great contributions all around:

CJ Watson ended with 9 assists, 0 turnovers and 2 steals in only 16 minutes.

Often maligned Carlos Boozer, chipped in 16 points, 2 rebounds and demonstrative expressions such as this one:


(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Rip (I won't call you Richard when you play well) Hamilton scored 16 points, and a couple of fast break hoops and layups:


(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

And of course, the defense remembered to make an appearance as well:


(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Sacramento ended the game shooting 35-83 (42.2%). It didn't hurt that despite getting 34 free throw attempts they only hit 20 of those (58.9%). The Bulls blocked 5 shots, and forced the Kings into 16 turnovers (6 steals).

On the other end of the floor, it was great to see the team have better spacing, and ball movement in this game. Along with Watson's 9 assists, DRose would chip in 8 assists leading to 25 total assists. Unlike the previous game where they went 10-22 at the rim (45.5%), they were 19-24 (79.2%) at the rim. 10 of the 25 assists led to scores at the rim. Good stuff!

Enjoy this coast to coast rebound and layup by Jo:

Three down, 63 to go.

Hoopdata Box Score:
http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=311229023

PopcornMachine BoxScore:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20111229&game=CHISAC

PopcornMachine GameFlow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20111229&game=CHISAC