NBA - MVP Rose leads Bulls past Hawks; Mavs go 2-0 up on Lakers [video]

CHICAGO (NBA) - Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was handed the NBA's Most Valuable Player trophy before Wednesday night's big home game against Atlanta.
 
The Team USA star then performed like an MVP, at least for some of the contest, as the Bulls beat the Hawks, 86-73, to level their Eastern Conference semi-final series at 1-1.
 
Dallas also won 93-81 at the Los Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference semi-final showdown on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in that series.
 
The NBA spotlight was on Chicago, where Rose has become the undisputed leader of the Bulls.
 
Bothered by a left ankle injury in recent days, he ran onto the floor and poured in 25 points and handed out 10 assists but did have a game-high eight turnovers.
 
The playmaker shot just one of eight from long range and 10 of 27 overall.
 
"Shots I normally hit, they just didn't fall tonight," Rose said.
 
"The way that they're playing me, I'm going to continue to shoot."
 
The only thing that mattered to Rose and the Chicago fans was the victory.
 
Now Chicago will try to win in Atlanta.
 
Dirk Nowitzki, meanwhile, dazzled again for Dallas.
 
The German basketball icon had 24 points and seven rebounds as the Mavs took a firm grip on their series with the Lakers, the two-time defending NBA champions.
 
"If you would have told me before that were going to win both games, that would have been hard to believe," Nowitzki said.
 
"But I think we earned it."
 
When asked if a sense of desperation was settling in for Los Angeles, their star Kobe Bryant replied: "Desperate? That's a strong word.
 
"I think when you play desperate, you don't play your best basketball.
 
"What we need to do is relax, focus on what we're doing wrong and the mistakes that we're making, and we have plenty to review and lock in on that."
 
The Game 3's in both series will be played on Friday.
 
Memphis host Oklahoma City in their Game 3 on Saturday, the same day Miami will face the Celtics in Boston.
 
The Heat have a 2-0 lead in their series against Boston.

Check out Wednesday night's top five plays

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