<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For awhile, coach Scott Skiles kept track of games in which the Bulls were on the brink of victory only to come unglued down the stretch. "We've just had many, many close games where we've had leads, or we've been down one with a couple of minutes to go," Skiles said. "We've had a lot of trouble closing them out. "Our count was at a dozen about two weeks ago, and we've had a couple or three since then." The most recent was Thursday against the Cavaliers, who are 3-0 against the Bulls this season. The Bulls will try to dodge a sweep Sunday night in Cleveland. In two of the losses against the Cavs, the final minutes were pivotal, and the Bulls responded with lethargy, just as they did against the 76ers and Pistons last weekend. "Sometimes those scars can be deep," Skiles said. "It's hard when you get to the end of a game--you can talk to guys all the time about being confident and about the plays you need to make, sometimes it just gets in your head a little bit." The Bulls put self-doubt aside in winning a close game over the Knicks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, but it's hard to muster enthusiasm over a come-from-behind victory against the worst team in the league.</div> <div align="center"> Source</div>
Since this article was published the Bulls are 1-2 and have been outscored by 21 points total in the second half of those loses. The Bulls need to have that killer instinct they had the game against Detroit a couple of nights ago, but they just le the Pistons take the game from them in the second half. The Bulls where out scored 27-16 in the third quarter of that game, and went shot for shot with the Pistons in the fourth quarter ultimately losing the quarter 37-36. Same with the Clippers the Bulls where in it until the second half in which the Clippers out scored them both quarters. The second half has been the Bulls Achilles heal all season they just seem to leave their intensity in the locker room after half time.
