Smooth Performance of the Night: Bulls squander Derrick Rose's excellent outing

Derrick Rose didn't bank in a miraculous game-winner on Sunday, but he did everything else within his power to help his Chicago Bulls, who dropped Game 4 by a score of 86-84.

For the second-consecutive night, Rose topped the 30-point plateau, as he scored 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field. He tacked on two rebounds and four assists for good measure.

Rose was aggressive from the start. Matched up against the hobbled Cavaliers backcourt of Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving, Rose used his speed, skill and superhuman athleticism to break down Cleveland's defense. Rose's jumper was on-point and his breathtaking drives made for some incredible highlights.

Rose also locked down Irving on defense. He stayed glued to Irving's hip, blowing up pick-and-rolls and dutifully contesting Irving's jumpshots. As a result, Irving had a miserable outing, shooting just 2-of-10 from the field.

As he did in Game 3, Rose again came up huge in the fourth quarter and nearly led Chicago to a late comeback. He drained a pull-up three with just over two minutes left to cut Chicago's deficit to three. Rose then tied the game at 84 with a hard drive to the basket with just 8.4 seconds left.

But of course, LeBron James put an end to any comeback hopes by sinking a buzzer-beater of his own to even the series at 2-2.

Rose's resurgence is still an incredibly positive sign for Chicago. His averages are up to 25 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 38.8 minutes per game in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.