SB Nation Chicago - Chicago Bulls Vs. New Jersey Nets: Bulls Win Holiday Matinee For Third Straighthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48877/chicago-fave.png2010-12-31T18:25:25-06:00http://chicago.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16699272010-12-31T18:25:25-06:002010-12-31T18:25:25-06:00Luol Deng And Derrick Rose Have 19 Points Each; Bulls Win 90-81
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<p>Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – <span>Carlos Boozer</span> led all scorers with 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> held on to defeat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/new-jersey-nets">New Jersey Nets</a>, 90-81, at the United Center.</p>
<p><span>Luol Deng</span> went for 19 points and eight boards, while <span>Derrick Rose</span> contributed 19 points and nine assists for Chicago, which has won three straight and 12 of its last 14 overall.</p>
<p><span>Brook Lopez</span> netted 19 points and <span>Travis Outlaw</span> and <span>Stephen Graham</span> each ended with 16 for the Nets, who dropped a 114-93 decision at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and have lost four in a row.</p>
<p>Deng scored nine points in the opening quarter to help the Bulls grab a slim 23-21 lead after 12 minutes.</p>
<p>Chicago was up by as many as 11, 39-28, approaching the midway point of the second after <span>Ronnie Brewer</span> knocked down a pair of free throws, but a 14-2 run by the Nets put the visitors in front 42-41 after Outlaw finished off the surge with a jumper with 2:23 before the half.</p>
<p>Each side exchanged the lead in the remaining minutes before Brewers’ three- pointer gave the Bulls a 46-44 edge heading into the intermission.</p>
<p>The hosts maintained the lead throughout the third and Deng’s two from the stripe late in the quarter gave his squad a 70-63 advantage heading into the fourth.</p>
<p><span>Derrick Favors</span>’ tip-in pulled the Nets to within two at 75-73 with just under seven minutes to play. However, Chicago got a three-point play from Boozer and two free throws by Rose to make it a seven-point game with 5:24 remaining.</p>
<p>New Jersey drew to within five on a few occasions, but couldn’t get any closer, as the Bulls held on down the stretch.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>Nets guard <span>Jordan Farmar</span> missed the game with a sore right knee…New Jersey took two of three meetings against the Bulls a year ago, but has lost six of the seven in Chicago…The Bulls improved to 13-3 at home this season, while New Jersey fell to 3-15 as the visitor.</p>
https://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-bulls/2010/12/31/1906818/luol-deng-and-derrick-rose-have-19-points-each-bulls-win-90-81Al Yellon2010-12-31T09:44:19-06:002010-12-31T09:44:19-06:00Chicago Bulls Vs. New Jersey Nets: The Bulls Miss Joakim Noah
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<p>The headline to this post would seem pretty obvious; <span>Joakim Noah</span> was headed toward a possible All-Star season before his hand surgery. <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-1231-bulls-chicago--20101230,0,2364858.story" target="_blank">This Tribune article tells the story</a> -- the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Bulls</a> have not done as well with fast-break points since Noah has been out. Coach <span>Tom Thibodeau</span> has the solution:</p>
<blockquote>"The big thing is defense and rebounding," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "If we're playing with high energy, we have to get the ball out quickly and look to attack. We have to be careful we don't become conservative late. <br><br> "We want to get our turnovers down. When you're careless with the ball, it makes you slower. I want us to attack. It plays to Derrick's strengths."</blockquote>
<p>The article goes on to say that the coach has asked <span>Derrick Rose</span> to join "the rebounding party"; the "high energy" he's referring to is clearly the way Noah plays every play. Not to say that the rest of the Bulls don't bring energy to the game, but Noah takes it to a different level. Rose did have a big rebounding game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.detroitbadboys.com/">Pistons</a> last Sunday, when he had a season-high 12 boards.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/new-jersey-nets">Nets</a> should be ripe for picking, especially in Chicago; they have the fourth-worst road record in the NBA at 3-14. The Bulls' win against Milwaukee gave them the third-best home record in the Eastern Conference as of today (12-3). The Bulls are playing their third game in a ten-game stretch where nine of the opponents have losing records; they're 2-0 so far, and need to keep that up.</p>
<p>The rare weekday afternoon game begins at 2 p.m. CST and will be televised on WGN, both locally and nationally.</p>
https://chicago.sbnation.com/2010/12/31/2327232/chicago-bulls-vs-new-jersey-nets-the-bulls-miss-joakim-noahAl Yellon