Bulls' Rose won't back down despite loss to Knicks

Photo: Bulls guard Derrick Rose takes it to the basket against the Knicks' Amare Stoudemire on Saturday.. (AP)

By Teddy Greenstein

NEW YORK -- Derrick Rose delivered two messages to Amare Stoudemire during the entertaining Bulls-Knicks duel on Christmas at Madison Square Garden.

One: I'll keep coming.

Two: Don't mess with me after the whistle.

The impact of those messages, though, might have gotten washed out in the Knicks' 103-95 victory, which exposed some flaws in the Bulls' defense.

Rose scored 25 points and produced several memorable moves. Eight minutes into the game, he soared for a lefty layup but got stuffed by Stoudemire.

The crowd went wild, but Rose didn't sulk. Instead he smiled, looked at Stoudemire and nodded repeatedly to acknowledge the block.

"I'm not going to stop coming," Rose said of his message.
In the fourth quarter, Rose drove to the hoop but a foul was called on Carlos Boozer for setting an illegal screen. Moments after the whistle, Stoudemire made some contact with Rose, who responded by jawing at the Knicks' main man.

"It got heated up for a minute, but that's basketball," Rose said. "He's a big man, that's what he's supposed to do."

While Rose had no problem with Stoudemire, he does wish the refs would reward him for his all-world ability to get to the rim.

Rose attempted just three free throws Saturday, missing two of them.

 "One day I'm going to get calls," Rose said. "I came into this league a driver, not a jump shooter. And take a look and see how many times I got to the line."

 Boozer said no matter what the refs do, he'll continue to encourage his teammate to drive.

 "He puts as much pressure on the basket as anyone in the NBA, and for him to get just three free throws is shocking ... uncommon, weird," Boozer said. "But we're not going to cry about that."

 That's wise considering the Bulls went to the line 20 times to the Knicks' 12.

 No, the Bulls lost this game because of defensive lapses against the NBA's most prolific team -- and their 21 turnovers. Rose and Boozer combined to commit 14.

 Boozer said they were largely the result of New York's effective double teams.

 "We tried to get the ball out to the right spots," he said, "but we needed more movement, more guys cutting and helping us out."

 The Bulls trailed by just two after three quarters but went cold in the fourth, missing 14 of 19 shots.

 DePaul product Wilson Chandler was clutch for the Knicks down the stretch, scoring their final eight points on two jumpers, a drive and two free throws.

 "Defensively, I didn't think we played our game," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "The rebounding was very good, but it's a multiple-effort type of game against these guys."

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/12/bulls-game-day-taj-gibson-ok-to-play-vs-knicks.html

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