Bulls 114, Clippers 101
Derrick Rose showed his MVP form with 29 points and 16 assists to
lead the Chicago Bulls past Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers
114-101 in a much-hyped home opener at Staples Center on Friday night.
Rose is 5-0 in head-to-head matchups with Paul, who had 15 points and 14 assists.
Rose
led a balanced Bulls attack and keyed a run fourth-quarter run when the
Bulls made five consecutive 3-pointers. They had been just 2 of 12.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah each had 19 points and eight rebounds. Richard Hamilton scored 16.
The
Bulls had a big advantage at the line, making 29 of 34 foul shots while
the Clippers went 12 for 20. The Bulls also outrebounded the Clippers
45-31.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers (1-2) with 34 points and 13
rebounds. Caron Butler scored 16 points while Mo Williams added 13
while starting at shooting guard in place of the injured Chauncey
Billups (strained groin).
Chicago (3-1) completed its four-game road trip with back-to-back wins.
Griffin had 11 points in the third quarter and tied the score at 77, but the Bulls closed the period with six unanswered points.
After
Trey Thompkins got the Clippers to 87-84 with a 3-pointer, the Bulls
rattled off 10 consecutive points for a 97-84 lead with 7:26 remaining
and the Clippers never threatened.