Bulls advance to East Finals by ousting Hawks

The next big challenge is right ahead.

No.1 seed Chicago Bulls secured their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals by pulling down the curtain on the Atlanta Hawks' season on Game 6 after a masterful 93-73 demolishing last night at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

Now, Chicago will lock horns with the Miami Heat and their "big three" of LeBron James,Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh as they vie for Eastern Conference supremacy and a ticket to the prestigious NBA Finals in an attempt to capture the championship.

Carlos Boozer went berserk, shooting 10-16 from the field to finish with 23 points and 10 rebounds and he also provided tough defense on the Atlanta frontcourt of Josh Smith and Al Horford as he worked side by side with Joakim Noah who blocked 3 shots.

The no. 1 defensive team in the league held the Hawks down to 42% shooting and Atlanta didn't manage to score at least 20 points in any of the quarters, a huge proof that the Bulls' defense really held it's ground.

Derrick Rose sacrificed some of his offense as he dished out 12 assists and shot only only 13 attempts to get his 19 points, in contrast to Game 4 where he shot 30+ attempts and the Hawks managed to put the cuffs on him leading to their defeat.

Joe Johnson finished with 19 points but he shot only 7-18 from the floor while Game 4 hero Josh Smith scored 18 points had 3 steals and 2 blocks but the big missing factors are Jamal Crawford and Al Horford who both shot 2-10 from the field.

How can Rose and the Bulls try to stop the rampage of James and Wade together with the rest of the Miami Heat team? That is the big question in the minds of basketball fans around the globe as they await this big showdown.

Bulls edge out Hawks to get 3-2 lead

The Bulls are seeing red alright.

MVP Derrick Rose once again led the first seeded Bulls with 33 points and 9 assists in their 95-83 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to push the Hawks to the brink of elimination last night at Chicago.

Luol Deng camback strong after struggling in Atlanta scoring 23 points and Taj Gibson scored all of his 11 points in the 4th quarter to lead an 26-15 rampage in the last quarter of this pivotal game.

Chicago was given everything they can handle especially in the 3rd quarter when the Hawks shot 60 percent from the field to overcome a 15 point deficit and threaten the Bulls of another strong finishing surge.

Jeff Teague came out with another 21 point performance to lead the Hawks. Josh Smith chipped in 16 points, Joe Johnson scored 15 and Al Horford contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Game 6 will be in Atlanta where the Hawks will try to tie things up to force a Game 7 in Chicago while the Bulls will look to secure their ticket to the East Finals.

Rose power Bulls to 2-1 lead over Hawks

2011 MVP living up to expectations.

The Chicago Bulls took the driver seat of their Eastern Conference semifinals match up with the Atlanta Hawks after a 99-82 road win last night at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta led by their MVP Derrick Rose.

Rose flared up the Hawks with a career high 44 points seasoned with 7 assists and 5 rebounds to regain homecourt advantage in the series and push the Hawks to a seemingly "must-win" situation this coming Game 4 to be held once again in Atlanta.

Hawks had no answer for Rose since the opening tip-off allowing him to score 17 points in the 1st Quarter, much to the dismay of the home fans as the series shifted to the Phillips Arena for the first time.

Jeff Teague was the lone bright spot for the Hawks scoring 21 points but he was repeatedly punished in the defensive end by the wide arsenal of moves Derrick Rose showed throughout the game.

Chicago's bench was exceptional for this game as they sparked a pivotal second quarter push to pad the lead to double digits while their starters rested in the sidelines. CJ Watson, Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer did a good job starting the second quarter from both ends of the court, giving their team the spark they needed to stay comfortably ahead.

Josh Smith accounted for a respectable 17 points and 13 rebounds but he attempted a lot of long jumpers that did not get him much success and the frustrations from the crowd mounted as Game 1 heroes Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford was limited to 10 and 7 points respectively.

The Bulls head to Game 4 hoping to get a commanding 3-1 series lead while the Hawks hope to knot the series at 2-2 before heading back to the Windy City.

Hawks eliminate Magic to set up a showdown with the Bulls

Talk about serving ice cold vengeance.

The Atlanta Hawks avenged themselves against the team that ousted them in an embarrassing sweep last season by pushing the Orlando Magic out of contention after their 84-81 victory to wrap the series up 4-2 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 23 points and he made a crucial play by tapping the ball to his teammate Jamal Crawford in a rebound play in the final seconds of the game leading to Crawford nailing two free throws to seal the final margin.

Orlando had two close chances to salvage their season but JJ Redick missed an open three-pointer and Jason Richardson’s desperation attempt was blocked by Josh Smith.

Hawks now advance to the second round for the third straight year and this time they will be facing the top seeded Chicago Bulls who won their series with the Pacers in 5 games 4-1.

The Magic meanwhile head to their earliest off season since 2007 and their star center Dwight Howard becomes a free agent next year so uncertainty surrounds the Orlando camp this off season.