MILWAUKEE -- For Derrick Rose, it was the type of shot he dreamed about making as a kid growing up on the south side of Chicago. As Joakim Noah watched in awe, he felt like he was watching the final scene of a dramatic sports film. It was that type of defining moment.
With the Bulls and Bucks tied at 104 in Milwaukee, the ball was in Rose's hands as he stared across at Brandon Jennings guarding him one-on-one. As the clock neared zero, Rose took a 20-foot step-back jumper and drilled it as a pro-Bulls crowd erupted into a frenzy 90 miles north of the United Center.
"As a kid, those are things you dream about," Rose said after capping off his 30-point, 11-assist, eight-rebound performance. "That shot gives me a lot of confidence. I remember a few years back, I was missing those kinds of shots. I think it's a thing where you just learn from."
Throughout all of Chicago's previous 32 wins this season, none came on a buzzer-beating shot from Rose. In fact, this was the first time in Rose's career that he made a game-winning shot that came with no time remaining.
"That shot was like a movie," Noah said. "He hit the shot, no time left on the clock, you hear the horn and the ball goes through the net. It must be an unbelievable feeling to hit a shot like that. I'm happy he's on our team.
"He wants the ball in that situation. To be part of that, it's special. It's like a movie. He's special. Everybody knows that he wants the ball down the stretch. His confidence is sky-high right now."
While there is no debate that Rose -- the league's reigning Most Valuable Player -- is one of the league's best players, Wednesday may have been further evidence that he is the very best in the NBA. While LeBron James is getting picked apart for passing up final shots to teammates, Rose took the big shot and made it.
"What a luxury to have where you don't even have to run a play," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said after the game. "You can just bring it in, throw it to a guy and he can go and get whatever shot he wants, get it off and make it. You have to give him credit. Tough shot, he made it.
"It may seem like a difficult shot, but for him, it's actually not."
Skiles added that he had no desire to double-team Rose and try to force the ball out of his hands. Jennings, who guarded Rose well on the play, was happy to be given the opportunity to square off with the MVP in the final seconds, even though it didn't end well.
"I wanted him straight up," Jennings said. "If anything, if he was going to beat me, he was going to beat me off the jump shot like he did today. I was trying to contain him from trying to get to the basket. A great player made a great shot."
Until the final shot, Rose had not made a basket from beyond 15 feet all night and was 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
"He hits a step-back jumper with a hand in his face," Jennings said. "Hey, you go ahead and take that one."
The win keeps Chicago with the NBA's best record, now at 33-8 and a two-game lead over the Heat in the Eastern Conference race for the No. 1 seed. It is also the Bulls' eighth consecutive win over the Bucks.
Despite Milwaukee's 15-24 record, Skiles' group has had plenty of success against top teams this season, with two wins over Miami and one against the Los Angeles Lakers. But even a career-high 32-points from forward Ersan Ilyasova was not enough to keep Rose from the highlight reels.
"It's really disappointing losing a game like this," Ilyasova said. "Derrick Rose hit a hell of a shot and Brandon was on him the whole time. It was good defense. (Rose) is a hell of a player. It's hard to stop him."
If Rose and the Bulls can continue to play this well, James and the Heat may have to wait at least one more year to begin their quest of not one, not two, not three, not four championships. As good as the trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are, Rose may just be too much to stop.
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