A History of the TNT Bulls
Game 12: Fred Hoiberg is the answer
Basketball-Reference box score.
This game was on a Tuesday, so it obviously doesn’t count in the streak of Thursday games. However, this is an exhaustive guide, and I’ve already dedicated time to two games that don’t even half-count, so let’s talk about it. That being said, I’m a little winded after 13 recaps in a row, so I’ll let Ball Don’t Lie’s Dan Devine take a chunk of this one.
"With just over seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a nip-and-tuck matchup with the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bulls faced the unenviable task of stopping four-time MVP and longtime ruiner of Chicagoans’ evenings LeBron James as he barreled into the paint off a Tristan Thompson screen with a head of steam. As James drove right and gained the lane, center Pau Gasol — whose defensive work often left much to be desired, even as he worked his way to an All-Star berth during his first season in the Windy City — stepped up and slid with him. James elevated with a right-handed layup that in years past, before all those minutes and these more recently recurring back issues, probably would have been a tomahawk slam. Instead of getting dunked on, though, Gasol sent LeBron’s offering back in his face and sent “The King” to the deck on the baseline, eliciting roars from the United Center crowd for maintaining a two-point lead with 3.6 seconds remaining."
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This was an inspiring victory for Chicago, in no small part because President Barack Obama was in attendance for a portion of it. It also started off the Fred Hoiberg era on the right foot with a win over the defending conference champs. Looking back, at least Hoiberg had that one night. The offense had potential, they beat Lebron and the leader of the free world was sitting courtside.