Bulls legends Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah get brutally honest on epic 2009 Celtics playoff series
12/31/2024 03:27 PM
The Chicago Bulls had Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah come in to reminisce about some of the defining moments of their career, and the two looked back on Noah’s dunk over Paul Pierce in Game 6 of their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in 2009. Rose was reflecting on the series as a whole initially, before the dunk came up on a video that was being shown to them.
“I remember talking to my agent at the time and him telling me to go out and try to play Game 1 as if it was a regular game,” Derrick Rose said. “Now looking back at it, it’s like bro how? I don’t know how I was able to like be so poised while I was playing. And like during big moments especially late in the game. I realize why Paul Pierce be hating because he missed that free throw.”
D-Rose remembers his iconic rookie playoff debut against Boston in 2009 pic.twitter.com/SLgvgtsLlw
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 30, 2024
The dunk from Noah came with around 35 seconds left in triple overtime, and it gave the Bulls a 125-123 lead. He was fouled on the play, meaning Pierce would leave the game. Noah laughed about Pierce’s dejected reaction to the play, which was shown on the video.
“Look at the hate!” Joakim Noah said when a dejected Paul Pierce was shown. “Oh man! That’s my favorite part right there, you saw that hate?”
Rose went on to say that this moment was a jumping-off point for his, Noah’s, and everyone else’s careers on that team. Then he went on to praise Noah’s ability to make that play at that moment.
“And there’s no hate though,” Rose said. “I’m just saying he birthed, him missing that free throw kind of birthed all of our careers. Ain’t too many fives getting that steal and being able to have enough puppy power in the puppies to get down the court. So that was a big play in the game, and me running late up the court like I was like, you see, I’m a fan. I’m watching the play like, ‘Oh, s***.” So to see my guy do that, have a big moment like that to change the game, it was a beautiful moment.”
The Celtics went on to win the series in Game 7, but it was a valuable experience for the young Bulls team, as they would continue to be contenders in the Eastern Conference in the following years.
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