Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – Kurt Thomas finished with 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists as Chicago topped Milwaukee, 92-83, at United Center.
Derrick Rose added 21 points with 10 assists and Carlos Boozer contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for Chicago, which has won three straight and six of seven.
“I thought we played hard tonight,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think the big thing now is we have a couple of practices and a few things to clean up.”
Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Bucks with a game-high 30 points. Ersan Ilyasova scored 17 while Keyon Dooling finished with 13 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee, which had dropped back-to-back games and five of seven overall.
Leading 19-18 after the first quarter, the Chicago lead quickly reached seven, 33-26, with a quick 6-0 run, capped by a pair of Ronnie Brewer free throws at 7:04.
After a Ilyasova layup, Kyle Korver drilled a three-pointer at 5:04 to start a 13-1 Chicago run, endcapped with another Korver three with 1:58 remaining, to put the game away. The Bulls took a 48-32 lead into the break.
Thomas led the way with 16 points in the first half as the Bulls forced 10 turnovers and made 10-of-11 from the line.
Douglas-Roberts added 15 points in the third quarter on 7-of-10 from the field, and the Bucks trimmed their deficit to 68-58 entering the final stanza.
The Bucks worked their deficit down to as low as seven in the closing minute of the fourth quarter on a Ilyasova three with 34.9 ticks remaining. However, Rose iced two from the line on the next possession to account for the final margin.
Korver finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Luol Deng contributed nine points and seven rebounds in a starting role…The Bulls made 22-of-25 from the charity stripe.