Loss leaves Bulls feeling feeble
Robinson, Gibson put forth admirable efforts despite battling flu
The Bulls aren’t the Brooklyn Dodgers after all.
They did everything they could to avoid a trip to Flatbush for Game 7 before losing to the Nets 95-92 on Thursday. Well, almost everything. Nate Robinson left the game a couple of times to throw up into a garbage can on the bench.
“That was the only way [I was coming out],’’ said Robinson, who played 42 minutes. “There were a couple of times I had to throw up during the game.
“I don’t know if they would have called a foul if I threw up on Deron Williams. Have to check the rule book on that one.’’
Robinson wasn’t the only Bull battling the flu. Luol Deng was so sick, he left the United Center, reportedly for hospital treatment. And Taj Gibson, who played nearly 18 minutes, looked like he would have been wise to join Deng.
“I feel sick,’’ a glassy-eyed Gibson said. He had a towel wrapped around his head, and wore extra garments to fight off the chills in a gloomy postgame locker room.
“It’s just tough,’’ Gibson said. “We have a lot of guys playing through [the flu]. We came up short tonight. We just have to keep playing. Saturday is do-or-die. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick. We have to play. We have to suck it up.’’
Tom Thibodeau, who likes to go 10 deep in his rotation, gave only six players significant minutes — and two of them should have been under a doctor’s care.
Do the math. That’s no way to win a playoff series, even after you’ve opened a 3-1 lead. But the Bulls vowed to show up in Brooklyn on Saturday.
“It’ll be the same as it was tonight — a dogfight,’’ Carlos Boozer said. “It’s going to be our will vs. their will. Whatever it takes to win the game.’’
Robinson wasn’t using illness as an excuse.
“I’m more disappointed in the loss. I’ll be OK,’’ he said. “I don’t know where the flu came from. It came out of nowhere. We just have to get the win on Saturday and we’ll be OK.’’