Luol Deng impresses as Chicago Bulls beat Dallas Mavericks 93 – 83 – NBA Recap
The Chicago Bulls on Saturday picked up an important win over the NBA World Champions Dallas Mavericks. Playing in front of their home support at the United Center, Chicago started the game off on the front foot and did not allow the Mavericks a way back
to secure the 93 – 83 win.
The Bulls were led by small forward Luol Deng. Deng scored a game high 22 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He was one of the players Mavs coach Rick Carlisle believed had hurt them on the night.
"They did a good job of finding the shooters. They have a bunch of guys that can get the ball off quickly," Carlisle said. "Deng and Korver hit big ones for them."
Richard Hamilton scored 19 points for the Bulls who had 12 points and 10 rebounds from Carlos Boozer. Star point guard Derrick Rose scored 11 and dished out 8 assists. Chicago’s effort pleased their coach.
"I think he played a very controlled type game. He was taking care of the ball, running the offense and just trying to get a feel for being out there again," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said
For the Mavericks, German giant Dirk Nowitzki was a shining light. He scored a team high 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while guard Rodrigue Beaubois had 16 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Veteran forward Vince Carter came off the bench for 15 points.
The Bulls started the game in aggressive fashion and dominated the first quarter. They were terrific in defence as they held the Mavs to just 8 points in the first period, scoring 21 points themselves for a commanding lead.
Dallas hit back in the second quarter. Nowitzki was instrumental in the Mavericks accumulating 30 points in the period and they closed the gap with Chicago to just 6 points at halftime, 44 – 38.
After the break however the reigning NBA World Champions could not sustain their momentum. The Bulls wore the down and actually increased their advantage in the third frame, heading into the final quarter with a double digit lead.
That proved to be too much for the Mavs, who couldn’t threaten Chicago much in the last 12 minutes. The home side was able to see out the game at 93 – 83.
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