Just hours after being named to the 2010-2011 All-NBA team, the league MVP Derrick Rose (pictured below) and his Chicago Bulls blew past Josh Smith and the hapless Atlanta Hawks to win game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals 93-73 at Philips Arena last night.
The Bulls will host LeBron James and the Miami Heat in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday in Chicago.
In addition to Rose making the All-NBA team, LeBron James (Miami Heat), Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers), the Thunder’s Kevin Durant and the Magic’s Dwight Howard also made the squad.
Rose and the Bulls won back-to-back games after dropping game 4 to the Hawks last Friday. Many blamed that loss on Rose’s hard partying at several Atlanta nightclubs before and after game 4. It was a different story when Rose slipped back into Atlanta for game 6 though.
I’m told he never left his downtown Atlanta hotel room Wednesday and Thursday except to participate in morning shootarounds, eat and use the bathroom.
Though jubilant over their win, Rose and his teammates no doubt heard about the death of NBC5 Chicago sportscaster Daryl Hawks, who was found in his hotel room at the CNN Center yesterday morning. Hotel staff found Hawks’ body after his colleagues failed to reach him by phone all morning.
Hawks, 38, was in Atlanta to cover game 6. Police ruled out foul play and Hawks’ death is not under investigation. The Philips Arena is adjacent to the CNN Center megaplex in downtown Atlanta.
Photos by AP, NBA, Getty Images
