Top Five Most Memorable Bulls Playoff Games Last Ten Years

Number 5: Everybody is out, but the Bulls still find a way to win

May 4, 2013, Game 7 of the First Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs

Chicago Bulls: 99

Brooklyn Nets: 93

The Situation:

After taking a commanding 3-1 lead to open up their first round series against Brooklyn, the Nets forced a Game 7 showdown with two straight victories in Game 5 and Game 6.

The odds seemed stacked up against the Chicago Bulls in this game. Not only were the Brooklyn Nets riding the momentum of two straight playoff victories, but they also had home-court advantage for Game 7. A series of unfortunate injuries left the Bulls dangerously short-handed causing many to wonder if they could even put up a fight in this game.

A negative reaction to a spinal tap test for viral meningitis caused Bulls forward Luol Deng to miss the final two games of the series against the Brooklyn Nets. Following the incident, Deng described the discomfort he experienced while recovering from the botched spinal tap.

"I did the spinal tap and just after that, I just didn’t respond well. Started having severe headaches. I was struggling to walk. I started feeling really weak. Started throwing up. Constant diarrhea. I just couldn’t control my body really. Because of that, I lost a lot of weight. Still just trying to get back, just trying to get right because I still don’t feel (well). –Quote obtained by Chicago Tribune writer K.C. Johnson"

Bulls backup point guard Kirk Hinrich missed Game 7 with calf soreness while former MVP Derrick Rose continued to sit out while rehabbing from an ACL injury that he suffered in the 2012 playoffs.

A short-handed Chicago Bulls team gritted out a hard-fought win in the face of extreme adversity. This game, and the entire playoff series in general, defined these Chicago Bulls players as a team that maximized their potential by playing harder than opponents on a nightly basis. It was one of those games where a fan could be proud to call themselves a Bulls fan. That is what made it so memorable.

The Game:

The Chicago Bulls built a 61-44 halftime lead, however; the Brooklyn Nets rallied cutting the deficit to four at one point. However, the Bulls ultimately held them off  behind the effort of their emotional leader Joakim Noah. In this game, Noah finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.

Quotable:

Bulls center Joakim Noah described the locker room scene and previewed the upcoming series against the Miami Heat after the Bulls improbable Game 7 victory against the Brooklyn Nets.

"We were in the locker room, everybody’s got ice, everybody is tired, it is unbelievable to share these moments. I’m very excited to face the Heat; you want to play against the best. This is what it is all about, playing against the defending champs. It’s going to be a war. –Quote obtained by ESPN writer Brian Windhorst"

ESPN Chicago Bulls writer Nick Friedell called this “a defining” win for Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. In his column, Friedell described how the Chicago Bulls were able to win this playoff series in the face of so much adversity.

"They have that belief because Thibodeau has instilled it in them. They have that belief because they have players like Joakim Noah, who refuse to accept anything less than a victory in the toughest of setting. The Bulls have that belief because of the countless hours they spend in the gym together. Thibodeau has created a culture of winning with the Bulls that almost every other team in the league envies. They trust that nobody will be able to outwork them on any given night because Thibodeau forces them to work harder than everyone else. No matter who gets hurt, the Bulls still believe they can win because they’ve prepared for every possible situation. –Content created by ESPN writer Nick Friedell"

The Chicago Bulls fell to the eventual NBA champions Miami Heat in the second round of the 2012-2013 playoffs. The premature playoff exit didn’t take away from the admirable efforts that the Chicago Bulls showed that season in the face of adversity. Although it didn’t end the way fans wanted, the series against the Brooklyn Nets remains one of the most memorable playoff series in the last ten seasons because it epitomizes everything that the Tom Thibodeau era Chicago Bulls stood for.

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