Bulls 99, Grizzlies 96
Derrick Rose scored 24 points and Luol Deng added 23 as the Chicago Bulls recorded a 99-96 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Rose hit two go-ahead free throws with 2:17 to play and added a three-point play with 10.8 seconds left to help Chicago (52-19) win for the 11th time in 12 games.
Mike Conley missed a last-second 3-point attempt for Memphis (40-33), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Carlos Boozer added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who increased their lead to two games over the Boston Celtics in the race for top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Zach Randolph scored 16 points, Marc Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Tony Allen scored 13 for the Grizzlies.
Memphis led 91-88 after O.J. Mayo’s 3-pointer with 4:39 remaining, but the Bulls responded with a 10-2 run that was capped by Rose’s 3-point play.
The Grizzlies led by eight late in the second quarter after Randolph scored five points during a 9-0 run. But Chicago countered with a 12-1 run to finish the half, taking the lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Deng. Rose’s basket with one second left gave the Bulls a 49-46 halftime edge.