Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls tore out to an early lead in the Atlanta Hawks first home game of the series, and even the homeriest Hawks fan had to know right away that another comeback wasn't in the cards. If the MVP's ankle is still bothering him, kids around the country are going to be in the garage taking hammers to their feet, in case you need them.
Rose finished with a career high 44 points, which is only half the story, of course. Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford and Marvin Williams combined for 37 points, leaving Jeff Teague and Josh Smith responsible for all the scoring. Let's either have Teague contain Rose or be the team's highest scorer -- nobody should be asked to do both.
Smith had some blunders, but finished with 17 points, 13 boards and four blocks, while Joakim Noah secured as many offensive boards as Horford did total rebounds.
Time marches on, and the Hawks get a chance to even it back up Sunday night. A win would also ensure a Game 6 in Atlanta, while a loss would set up the Bulls to close out the series in Chicago.
Game 1: Hawks def. Bulls, 103-95 (1-0)
Game 2: Bulls def. Hawks, 86-73 (1-1)
Game 3: Bulls def. Hawks, 99-82 (2-1)
Game 4: Sun., May 8 in Atlanta, 8 p.m., TNT, 97.9 FM
Game 5: Tue., May 10 in Chicago, Time TBD, TNT, 97.9 FM
Game 6: Thu., May 12 in Atlanta, Time TBD, ESPN, 97.9 FM
Game 7: Sun., May 15 in Chicago, Time TBD, TNT, 97.9 FM
For more on the series, visit SB Nation's NBA hub, Peachtree Hoops, Blog-a-Bull, and SB Nation Chicago.