Rose sits out second half as Bulls seal No. 3 seed

[April 16, 2015]  CHICAGO -- If Wednesday's game were a playoff contest, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose said, he would have stayed on the court.

However, Rose played it safe when he felt left knee soreness in the regular-season finale. He watched the second half from the bench as his teammates rallied for a 91-85 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

"It shows how deep this team is," Rose said. "It's no excuses. No matter who is out, somebody comes in to try and get the job done. Tonight, it showed that we've got that capability."

Such depth could come in handy during the postseason.

Guard Aaron Brooks scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Bulls, who erased an 18-point deficit in the second half. Chicago (50-32) secured the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, where it will face the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

Guard Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting. The loss did not affect the playoff picture for the Hawks (60-22), who set a franchise record for regular-season wins and secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference on March 27.

Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer pulled his starters midway through the third quarter in order to keep them healthy for the start of the playoffs. He said he liked what he saw from the starting five, which included forward Paul Millsap for the first time since a shoulder injury sidelined him April 4.

"I thought they were aggressive defensively," Budenholzer said. "They made things difficult in the paint and got to shooters. Offensively, I thought the ball was moving. I thought we were getting a lot of good opportunities.

"The group had a great regular season. Now, we're ready to start the playoffs."

Rose struggled in his fifth game back from a right knee injury that sidelined him for 20 games from late February to early April. He scored two points in 10 minutes during the first half before feeling soreness in his surgically repaired left knee toward the end of the second quarter.

"It's nothing serious at all," Rose said. "It's just being cautious."

The Bulls trailed by as many as 18 points early in the third quarter before rallying to slice the deficit to 72-70 entering the fourth. Brooks fueled the comeback with nine points in the quarter, which started with an 11-0 run by the Hawks and ended with a 28-12 run by Chicago.

Brooks finished the game with six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Forward Pau Gasol contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds for his league-leading 54th double-double.

"When Derrick goes out, I've just got to be myself and be aggressive," Brooks said. "We have a deep team. A lot of guys just stepped up."

The Hawks managed only 13 points in the fourth quarter with all five of their starters on the bench. Center Al Horford said he was not discouraged by the loss, Atlanta's third in a row.

"We want to be playing good basketball," said Horford, who finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. "We want to play at a high level. We went out there and played good today, and I'm pleased with where we're at as a team."

Atlanta led 49-42 at halftime after closing the second quarter on a 14-4 run. Schroder sparked the Hawks with 14 points off the bench in the first half, including a running layup with 1.9 seconds remaining to extend the lead to seven.

Horford scored 10 of Atlanta's first 14 points to help the Hawks grab a 22-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulls did not score for the first 3:15 but finished the quarter on a 13-6 run.

Bulls forward Taj Gibson left because of a shoulder injury in the third quarter and did not return.

"I'll be ready come Game 1," Gibson said.

NOTES: Bulls C Joakim Noah sat out because of tendinitis in his left hamstring, but he is expected to be available for the start of the playoffs. Noah missed 15 games during the regular season, during which he averaged 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. ... Hawks F Paul Millsap returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games because of a shoulder injury. He scored five points in 27 minutes. ... Bulls G Kirk Hinrich did not play because of a hyperextended left knee. Hinrich, 34, averaged 5.7 points and 2.2 assists in 66 games. ... Hawks F Mike Scott (back contusion) and G/F Thabo Sefolosha (fractured right fibula) did not play. ... Bulls C Nazr Mohammed appeared in his 1,000th career game. The 16-year veteran is the 115th player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

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