Chicago Bulls Take No. 1 Spot in East

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114-81 on Tuesday night to take the number 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.

Derrick Rose, whom many consider to be the strongest MVP contender this year, led his team with 30 points, 10 assists, and 4 rebounds. Fans chanted "MVP! MVP!" as he drained one three-pointer after another. Rose went 6-for-8 from the 3-point range for the night.

"Right when we got the lead we were just telling each other it's not going to happen again," said Rose, referring to the Bull's 83-80 loss to the Hawks on March 2nd. "After that game, we all felt bad. It hurts. We don't want that feeling anymore."

The Bulls could not have had a better shooting night. Shooting at 73.8 percent during the first half (31-of-42 shots), the Bulls finished the game at 54.4 percent shooting. The Bulls outscored the Hawks 41-22 in the second period, giving them a season-high 72 points (versus the Hawks' 43) going into halftime.

"We have a lot of confidence," said Luol Deng, who contributed 27 points. "When our mindset is right on defense, we seem to work harder on offense. When we're not as focused on defense, it kind of leads to our offense. We just go through the motions. So it always starts with defense... We're trying to do great things in the playoffs."

With a 51-19 season record, the Bulls are now 1/2 game ahead of the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference and 3 games ahead of the Miami Heat. The Bulls currently have the second best season record in the NBA, behind the San Antonio Spurs (57-13).

(Sources: Associated Press, NBA.com, ESPN.com)

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