Down the stretch, Derrick Rose showed us that LeBron James wasn’t the only special #1 draft pick in the United Center on Thursday night.

The top draft pick in the 2008 NBA Draft put on a show as the Chicago Bulls jumped out to a huge lead on held on for a victory in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Rose scored 31 points, handed out 7 assists and did not commit a single turnover.  The Chicago point guard scored several big baskets in the fourth quarter to help the Bulls maintain their shrinking lead.  The Bulls also received a huge contribution from guard Kirk Hinrich, who finished with 27 points.  Luol Deng rounded out Chicago’s top scorers with 20 points.  Joakim Noah provided his usual yeoman’s work on the glass, grabbing 15 rebounds and pitching in with 10 points. 

Rose played 42 minutes of turnover-free basketball on Thursday night.

The home team led by 11 after the first quarter, and jumped out to a 21-point lead at one point in the second quarter.  The Cavs battled back throughout the second half to put themselves in position to threaten to win the game.

After two made free throws by Brad Miller, the Cavs trailed by four with nine seconds remaining.  Mo Williams knocked down a fade-away triple  leaving slightly less than four seconds in regulation.  Luol Deng was fouled on the inbounds, went to the line and swished the first of two free throws.  Deng then missed the second, and without a timeout Cleveland’s Anthony Parker had to rush the ball up the court and attempt a desperation three - which was off the mark as the final buzzer sounded.

Cleveland was led by LeBron James’ 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks.  James scored 24 points in the game’s final 18 minutes – fueling the Cavs’ late game charge.  Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams combined for 40 points, but only shot 40% from the field.

The United Center will play host to Game 4 of the series on Sunday at 3:30pm ET.  Look for the Bulls to continue to work off of their crowd’s energy and try to get out to another great start.  After a horrible start, Cleveland was right there at the end of the game.  They have to be encouraged by the fact that a better start would have enabled them to walk away with a victory tonight.

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