Rose leads Bulls past the Clippers for their sixth straight victory
Derrick Rose led the Chicago Bulls to a 106-88 blowout win over the floundering Los Angeles Clippers for their sixth consecutive victory on Wednesday night at the Staples Centre.
Rose had one of his best games of the 2010-11 season. The 22-year-old point guard scored a team-high 33 points and grabbed 11 assists in the victory. Rose is the only player among the league's top 10 in both scoring and assists.
Luol Deng scored 26 points and Carlos Boozer added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago, who held their opponents under 100 points in 13 straight games and 19 of the last 20 games.
Rookie Blake Griffin led the Clippers with a team-high 32 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the defeat. Although he missed nine of 13 free throws, Griffin registered his 40th double-double of the season and 34th in the last 35 contests.
Ryan Gomes added 16 points while Randy Foye contributed 14 points off the bench for Los Angeles, who lost their 29th game of the 2010-11 season.
First Half Recap
Boozer hit a baseline jumper over Foye to give the Bulls a two-point lead at the start of the game. The Clippers answered with a pair of jump shots from Gomes with 26.2 seconds left to make it 18-17 for good. However, the Bulls got it going offensively by
the end of opening quarter, to take a 28-23 lead into the second.
The Bulls got major three-pointers from C.J. Watson and Kyle Korver to stretch their lead to 38-29 in the ninth minute of the second quarter. The Clippers answered with a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 41-45.
Deng was the Bulls most consistent offensive weapon in the second quarter as he turned in eight points for the home team. Chicago managed to take a 55-49 lead into half time.
Second Half Recap
The Bulls extended their offensive play to the third quarter as they scored six straight points, to extend their lead to 61-49 with 10 minutes left in the third. The Clippers continued to play sloppy basketball in the third as Chicago went on a 10-0 run
to take an 82-71 lead going into the fourth.
Chicago opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and the Clippers never got back to within eight points for rest of the period.
Disappointed Clippers forward Blake Griffin said, “They did not let us get as much penetration in the second half. They tightened the floor on us and it forced us to take some bad shots."
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