Bulls 98, Pelicans 94
CHICAGO -- Aaron Brooks scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 98-94 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at United Center.
Brooks, a reserve guard, finished with 17 points and hit three 3-pointers in the fourth. Point guard Derrick Rose finished with just nine points but hit a clutch fade-away jumper with 11.5 seconds left to put the Bulls (13-8) up by four.
Six players finished in double-figure scoring for Chicago, led by Pau Gasol's 18 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Jimmy Butler added 15 points and forward Doug McDermott scored 12, while center Joakim Noah and forward Nikola Mirotic had 10 points each.
Forward Anthony Davis and guard Tyreke Evans each scored 22 points to lead the Pelicans (6-17), who led 70-64 to start the fourth. Guard Eric Gordon added 14 points for New Orleans.
The Bulls overcame that deficit with a 9-0 run in the first 2:17 of the fourth, all on 3-pointers. Brooks hit back-to-back 3s and Kirk Hinrich drilled one from the corner that gave Chicago its first lead of the second half, 73-70.
Evans gave New Orleans a 91-89 lead with 2:59 left to play, but Brooks' third 3-pointer put Chicago back up 92-91 on the next possession. The Bulls, who never held a third-quarter lead, closed it out from there.
Chicago finished with a big advantage in free throws: The Bulls hit 24 of 29 from the free-throw line to just 8 of 11 for the Pelicans.
New Orleans led for most of the first half, building an 11-point lead in the first quarter and two 14-point margins in the second.
Chicago clawed back into the game by chipping away at the large deficit in the second before using a 12-4 run in the final five minutes of the quarter to pull within 45-42 on a 3-pointer by McDermott with 30.9 seconds left.
NOTES: New Orleans played without G Jrue Holiday (lower right leg), F Ryan Anderson (stomach illness) and F/G Quincy Pondexter (left knee). Pondexter hasn't played yet this season, while recovering from knee surgery. Anderson missed his second straight game after sitting out the Pelicans' 107-105 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday in New Orleans. ... Bulls F Mike Dunleavy hasn't played this season while recovering from back surgery. ... Chicago G E'Twaun Moore and New Orleans G Eric Gordon played against each other in the 2007 4A Indiana State Championship Game. Moore led East Chicago Central to an 87-83 upset victory over North Central. Gordon, who led North Central, was named Indiana Mr. Basketball that season.