Bulls 95, Bucks 87
Derrick Rose had 30 points and a season-high 17 assists and took over down the stretch as the Chicago Bulls defeated the host Milwaukee Bucks 95-87 on Saturday.
Rose made the go-ahead layup with 1:53 to play and added two straight jumpers as Chicago (53-19) scored the final 12 points of the contest.
John Salmons scored 25 points and Carlos Delfino added 23 for Milwaukee (29-43).
The Bucks didn’t make a field-goal after Andrew Bogut’s dunk gave them an 83-79 lead with 5:01 to play. Delfino’s two free throws with 2:55 left were Milwaukee’s final points.
Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Joakim Noah had 12 and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who won for the 12th time in 13 games and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the race for top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee started the second half with a 12-1 run to take a 60-45 advantage. Salmons scored 10 of the points and his 13-footer gave the Bucks a 15-point lead with 7:43 left in the quarter.
The Bucks led by 11 after Brandon Jennings’ basket with 1:37 left in the quarter, but Chicago responded with a 13-2 run to tie the score at 76 on C.J. Watson’s 3-pointer with 7:13 remaining.