Rose scored 39 points and found Kyle Korver for a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, helping top-seeded Chicago stage a late rally to beat the Pacers 104-99 in their playoff opener Saturday.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game,” Rose said. “From the beginning, I guess we weren’t prepared for it. Next time, I think we’ll be ready.”
For the Pacers, the loss was tough to accept. They controlled most of the game but could not put it away.
They would make little runs, Chicago would come back, and the Pacers would pull ahead again. With Rose staring at them, Danny Granger never felt safe.
“With Derrick Rose on the other team? No,” Granger said. “It’s like a crazy stalker ex-girlfriend. Every time you tell her you don’t want to talk to her, she’ll show up at your door again.”
Trailing by 98-88 in the final period, the Bulls showed the resolve that carried them to a league-best 62-20 record, closing with a 16-1 run over the final 3 minutes 38 seconds.
Rose scored 7 points during the impressive finish, including a 3-point play and a floater that tied it at 99-99 with 1:27 left. He then hit Korver with a cross-court pass for a 3 that gave the Bulls their first lead, 102-99.
Granger then missed a 3 and Joakim Noah got the rebound. Rose eventually hit two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining. Game 2 in this best-of-seven series is Monday night at United Center.
Rose again showed why he is a favorite for the most valuable player award, even though he was off target. He missed each of his 9 3-point attempts but went 19 of 21 at the foul line and finished with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Luol Deng added 18 points and Korver finished with 13.
Granger led Indiana with 24 points, and Tyler Hansbrough finished with 22, as the Pacers came up just short in their first playoff game in five years.
The Pacers will try to shake this one off and figure out how a game that looked so promising ended in defeat.
“We put forth a good effort, but who cares?” Granger said.
Now, the Bulls can breathe a little easier after a hard, physical game.
“Right now, I’m feeling good and can’t wait to go eat,” Rose said.
HAWKS 103, MAGIC 93 Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Jamal Crawford finished with 23 and visiting Atlanta beat Orlando in Game 1 of their playoff series, overcoming a monster night by the Magic star Dwight Howard.
Atlanta was eliminated by Orlando in last year’s playoffs in the most lopsided four-game sweep in N.B.A. history, but this one was much different.
The Hawks led by as many as 18 points while running multiple bodies at Howard all game, and the rest of the Magic failed to deliver.
Howard tied a career high with 46 points and had 19 rebounds. Jameer Nelson had 27 points, but no other Orlando player scored in double figures.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Orlando.
The Hawks were in control throughout after stumbling into the playoffs with a six-game losing streak.
They carried an 85-71 lead into the final quarter and caught a break when Howard was whistled for his fifth foul with 10:58 to play.
But even with Howard playing less aggressively underneath on defense, Orlando put together a 10-1 run that cut it to 92-83 with 4:40 left.
The Magic came out with some renewed offensive spirit in the opening minutes of the third, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 57-53. The Hawks responded with an 11-0 run.
MAVERICKS 89, BLAZERS 81 Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter and host Dallas defeated Portland in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Even though Nowitzki struggled from the field most of the night, he came through when the Mavericks needed him most.
Nowitzki scored 12 consecutive points in the game-turning spurt in the closing minutes when Dallas tied the game and eventually went ahead to stay.
Jason Kidd added 24 points, including a playoff career-best six 3-pointers.
posted Apr 8th 2011 5:31PM 
We understand that it's hard to take two steps rather than one, but a solid list of specifications isn't going to make the BlackBerry Bold Touch (Dakota) look any less last-decade. For whatever reason, RIM's design department seems to be stuck in an era where last-generation is the new next-generation, while it's internals team has seemingly managed to escape. For those who couldn't disagree more regarding the exterior, you'll likely be elated to know that the impending handset will boast a blisteringly fast 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, a microSD expansion slot, 5 megapixel camera and a 35-key backlit keyboard. You'll also get a microscopic 2.8-inch LCD with a woeful 640 x 480 resolution, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm headphone jack, A-GPS, dual-band 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a 720p movie mode. So, one down, one to go -- time for a reread, is it RIM?