* Bulls hold Hawks to 15 points in fourth quarter
* Rose, Gibson score 11 points each in final quarter
CHICAGO, May 10 (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls produced a stingy fourth quarter defensive effort to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 on Tuesday, which gave them a 3-2 Eastern Conference semi-final series lead.
"We've prepared ourselves all season for moments like this. The
playoffs are like this. They're hard-fought, a grind. You have to overcome things," said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau.
"We were able to get penetration and the ball in the paint. And I thought we made timely shots. We got the ball up the floor quicker. We hung tough and stayed together and got stops."
The Bulls held the Hawks to just 15 points in the fourth quarter to regain control of a game they had led for much of the first three quarters.
The teams exchanged the lead eight times over a stretch of 2:40 straddling the third and fourth quarters until league MVP Derrick Rose gave the Bulls the lead for good at 71-70 with a driving layup.
Chicago had led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, but did not score a field goal over the final six minutes of the first half allowing Atlanta to trim the lead to 48-42.
Atlanta continued to cut into the Bulls lead and took their first lead at 64-63 with 1:45 left in the third quarter.
Rose led the Bulls with 33 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and nine assists. Taj Gibson came off the bench and also scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Luol Deng added 23 points while Carlos Boozer grabbed 12 rebounds. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points.
"The series is not over," Hawks forward Josh Smith said.
"We have to go in and play with a ton of energy on Thursday. We have to do a better job keeping Derrick Rose out of our paint.
"If we do that, we should be coming back here for a game seven."
* Rose, Gibson score 11 points each in final quarter
CHICAGO, May 10 (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls produced a stingy fourth quarter defensive effort to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 on Tuesday, which gave them a 3-2 Eastern Conference semi-final series lead.
"We've prepared ourselves all season for moments like this. The
playoffs are like this. They're hard-fought, a grind. You have to overcome things," said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau.
"We were able to get penetration and the ball in the paint. And I thought we made timely shots. We got the ball up the floor quicker. We hung tough and stayed together and got stops."
The Bulls held the Hawks to just 15 points in the fourth quarter to regain control of a game they had led for much of the first three quarters.
The teams exchanged the lead eight times over a stretch of 2:40 straddling the third and fourth quarters until league MVP Derrick Rose gave the Bulls the lead for good at 71-70 with a driving layup.
Chicago had led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, but did not score a field goal over the final six minutes of the first half allowing Atlanta to trim the lead to 48-42.
Atlanta continued to cut into the Bulls lead and took their first lead at 64-63 with 1:45 left in the third quarter.
Rose led the Bulls with 33 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and nine assists. Taj Gibson came off the bench and also scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Luol Deng added 23 points while Carlos Boozer grabbed 12 rebounds. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points.
"The series is not over," Hawks forward Josh Smith said.
"We have to go in and play with a ton of energy on Thursday. We have to do a better job keeping Derrick Rose out of our paint.
"If we do that, we should be coming back here for a game seven."
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