Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — At times last season the Chicago Bulls were guilty of leaning on MVP point guard Derrick Rose too much to help them pull out wins in close games. ADVERTISING If the way they closed out
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — At times last season the Chicago Bulls were guilty of leaning on MVP point guard Derrick Rose too much to help them pull out wins in close games.
If the way they closed out Friday night’s 97-83 victory over Orlando is any indication, coach Tom Thibodeau’s team is well on the way to fixing that problem.
Rose and Luol Deng each scored 21 points and Chicago held off a fourth-quarter surge by the Magic for its sixth straight victory.
Carlos Boozer added 20 points for Chicago, which led by as many as 17 before the lead was trimmed to three. The Bulls closed the game on a 17-6 run and hung on despite getting just four points from Rose in the final 12 minutes.
“Anything to win,” Rose said. “That was the whole mindset. Just try to get out aggressive. Try to get guys going early. That was the whole game plan.”
Dwight Howard led the Magic with 28 points and 15 rebounds, and Jason Richardson broke out of scoring slump with 17. But Ryan Anderson, who coach Stan Van Gundy said “just didn’t get in the battle” against the Bulls and had been leading the team in scoring, went cold, along with the Magic’s reserves.
Van Gundy said the Magic, who were playing their first playoff opponent from last season since their season-opening loss at Oklahoma City, aren’t ready to compete with that caliber of team right now.
“Quite simply we’re not at that level. Not close,” he said. “And that’s OK; I’m not saying that crying or complaining. That’s just the way it is. You’ve got to face reality. We’ve got to put in the work to reach that level, because right now we’re not close to that level of play.”
The Bulls (7-1) are off to their best start since winning 12 of 13 to open the 1996-97 season. The latest victory began a brutal stretch for Chicago that includes seven games in nine nights.
Orlando (5-3) lost at home for the first time this season.
Rose went through some scoring lulls but kept Chicago’s offense on schedule, handing out 10 assists and coming within two rebounds of a triple-double.
The Bulls dominated inside and held a 46-37 rebounding edge. They also had 27 assists.
The Magic bench, which had been playing well this season, was 3 for 15 from the field.
The game featured several momentum shifts in the first three quarters.
The Bulls briefly opened a 17-point lead early in the third before three straight Magic 3-pointers pulled them within 62-54.
That came after Chicago built a 10-point lead at halftime.
The Bulls made their early run even though Rose was held scoreless in the second quarter. Kyle Korver picked up the slack with nine points and Boozer added eight, including a jumper at the halftime horn.
“They just play hard,” Howard said of the Bulls. “Everybody did what they have to do. Guys came off the bench. They know what they had to do in the game. They didn’t stay outside of their boundaries. … We’ve got to be the same way.”
Rose got off to a strong start with 12 first-quarter points.
The Magic jumped out to a 10-2 lead, prompting a quick Bulls timeout. But Chicago responded with a spurt of its own that included six straight points by Rose to tie it at 17.
Orlando regained its footing, outscoring the Bulls 10-9 the rest of the quarter thanks to six points by Howard, who was 6 for 8 in the period with 14 points and five rebounds.
“We have to understand what our roles are on this team. We have to understand what type of effort it’s going to take every night for us to be a good team,” Magic guard Chris Duhon said. “And right now we have to decide what type of team we want to be.”
With such a tough schedule on tap, Thibodeau said the Bulls won’t put too much stock in Friday’s outcome or dwell on what’s ahead.
“I think if you start looking at all the other stuff that’s going on, you become distracted and it takes away from your preparation,” he said. “You’re seeing that there’s a lot of great games out there. … You just have to keep fighting and find a way to win. That’s what it’s coming down to.”
SUNS 102,
BLAZERS 77
PHOENIX — Steve Nash made all seven shots, two of them 3-pointers, and handed out nine assists, then sat out the fourth quarter to watch his Suns complete a rout against the team that entered with the best record in the West at 5-1.
LAKERS 97,
WARRIORS 90
LOS ANGELES— Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 39 points in a dynamic second half, and Pau Gasol added 17 points and 11 rebounds as weary Los Angeles won its fifth straight home game while playing their NBA-high ninth game in 13 days.
THUNDER 109,
ROCKETS 94
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 26 points, top reserve James Harden added 23 and Oklahoma City eased into its only stretch of three games on consecutive nights by beating Houston, which fell to 0-5 on the road this season.
HAWKS 102,
BOBCATS 96, OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlanta went to overtime for a second straight night, pulling out a victory over Charlotte behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from Josh Smith.
KNICKS 99,
WIZARDS 96
WASHINGTON — Carmelo Anthony made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds to play and scored 37 points as Washington remained winless.
NETS 97,
RAPTORS 85
TORONTO — Deron Williams had 24 points and nine assists, and Anthony Morrow scored 24 as New Jersey snapped a six-game losing streak.
76ERS 96,
PISTONS 73
PHILADELPHIA — Spencer Hawes had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Jodie Meeks scored 21 points and Philadelphia won its home opener.
PACERS 87,
CELTICS 74
BOSTON — Danny Granger had 15 points and Roy Hibbert scored 11 with 12 rebounds to lead Indiana to its first win in Boston since 2007.
CAVALIERS 98,
TIMBERWOLVES 87
MINNEAPOLIS — Antawn Jamison had 22 points and six rebounds, and Kyrie Irving had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds as Cleveland held Minnesota to three fast-break points.
NUGGETS 96,
HORNETS 88
NEW ORLEANS — Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points and Denver went on a 19-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to hand New Orleans its fifth straight loss.
New Orleans played without Eric Gordon, who will be out two to three weeks with swelling in his right knee.
JAZZ 94,
GRIZZLIES 85
SALT LAKE CITY — Al Jefferson had 20 points and nine rebounds and the Utah reserves outscored their Memphis counterparts by 30.
