being older than dirt, i've watched a lot of basketball games both in person and on the tube and to be perfectly honest, most of them have little or no suspense when you reach the final minutes of the game. but thursday night, the CHICAGO BULLS and BOSTON CELTICS played a game for the ages, an 'instant classic' that will be replayed on espn for decades to come.
as previously posted, the bulls appeared to be headed down heartbreak road once again as they let not one, but two double digit leads disappear and when the world champs caught them with an incredible 17-0 run late in the 4th quarter, i could hear taps playing in the background as the celtics led by 8 with three and a half to play. i headed to the kitchen so i could take out my frustrations by crunching a crisp apple and ride the exercise bike at the same time. very healthy and good for my heart. watching the bulls is not.
the bulls finally woke from their stupor and drew to within 3 before the incredible ray allen stretched it to a five point lead with 90 seconds left. and then it was time for the brad miller show, he of the re-arranged teeth from game five.
miller cans a three and hits a driving layup while tony allen (not ray) misses two layups to allow the bulls a chance to win it. after a full timeout, i was sure the bulls would drive the middle to draw a foul or score the layup. but jerkwad ben "hooray for me" gordon dribbles the ball to the far side of the court and forces up a twenty-five footer....overtime. i then calmly hit a six footer with my apple core directly into the garbage can and wondered what gordon's problem was. i'm up to 2 miles and feeling good.
as we head to overtime, i quickly head to the kitchen and grab a second apple as the celtics take an early lead but the bulls quickly go up 4 despite derrick rose turning the ball over twice. i pedal harder to encourage the toros but paul pierce is automatic from the free throw line to regain the lead for the bad guys but john salmons cans a leaning jumper to tie it. the bonus is that jerkwad ben gordon has fouled out and pierce actually misses a shot. i bank the second core off the fridge for another score as we head to double overtime and my miles are at 4. i'm cookin'.
down to a couple of bananas, i bring both to the bike and john salmons gets me happy as he scores 7 points in two minutes and we lead by three when ray allen, who scored like a hundred points in the game, finally made a mistake. oh, he still made the shot from the corner but his toe was on the line so we still led by one and when MY MAN BRAD made two free throws to give us a 3 point lead with just 17 seconds left, i was lance armstrong in his prime as i passed 5 miles, sweating like an oinker but loving the bulls. silly me. allen makes up for the boo-boo with a coffin corner trey and the bulls play soccer during the last 8 seconds and we go to o.t. number three. i'm down to my last piece of fruit, a nasty looking banana but i need nourishment as i pass 7 miles.
fatigue is now a factor for everyone and even i struggle as my pedaling slows to a crawl while watching the extended version of 'the agony and the ecstasy,' also known as triple overtime. each side scores five points before bad shooting bogs down both teams which gives joakim noah, of all people, a chance to be a hero and i nearly fall off the exercise bike when he picks off a pass and throws down the sledge hammer while fouling out paul pierce. yowsa!!!!!!!!!!! victory is ours, right? right?
oh, please.........not again.
heinrich misses a crucial free throw and the brown banana flies out of the peel when i squeeze kirk's neck but i pedal 25 mph when rondo rebounds his own miss to cut it to one. burning calories is a good thing. one point leads aren't.
captain kirk makes me dial 9-1-1 as he misses a layup and gives the celtics yet another chance but rookie of the year derrick rose makes a block and is awarded 2 free throws when he is assaulted with just 4 seconds left. but it is very difficult to shoot free throws with one hand on your throat and he tanks both to give the celtics one more chance. finally it ends when rondo's fifty footer falls harmlessly and the bulls and i are exhausted and we all head to the showers. a total time of 45 minutes brought me 8 miles
closer to nowhere but maybe the bulls grew up. maybe. i will go out on a limb and predict the bulls win game 7 in boston because fatigue will be a huge factor with the older celtics. bulls 98-94 saturday night.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I was watching the game with friends at a sports bar here in dc. I thought the bulls were done after that 18 point run on them ,but they fought back. The overtimes were great for keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time . This was an instant classic.
I watched the replay on comcast sportsnet immediately following the game. I think I finally dozed off around 4 am. Even though I knew the outcome, I sweated out the victory for a second time.
Post a Comment