Prior to the playoffs, some questioned whether the Bulls had another gear on the heels of a 62-victory regular season. Based on the first two games against the inexperienced, undermanned Indiana Pacers, they're still in search of it. Once again, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (36 points) bailed out his supporting cast in a 96-90 victory at the United Center. They took a 2-0 lead in the series on a night when they shot 39 percent in the field and committed 22 turnovers.
The Bulls trailed 78-76 midway through the fourth quarter when Rose completed a three-point play that gave his team a permanent lead. He scored 14 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter. It wasn't until forward Luol Deng (14 points) sank two free throws with 17.5 seconds on the clock that the deed was done finally.
In the other game of the night, the Miami Heat rolled to a 94-73 victory over Philadelphia to go 2-0 up in the series. The game was pretty much over early in the third quarter as Le Bron James scored 29 and Chris Bosh added 21.