by Jay Cohen %u2028
CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose grabbed the microphone
and thanked the fans for making him Chicago's first All-Star starter since
Michael Jordan in 1998. Then he went out and showed why they made a wise
decision.
Rose had a career-high 42 points and the Bulls
headed into the break with an impressive 109-99 victory over the NBA-leading
San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.
Luol Deng had 19 points and Carlos Boozer finished
with 15 for Chicago, which shot 54 percent in its fourth consecutive win. The
Bulls improved to 38-16 after winning 41 games last season.
"We have a lot of confidence right now,
knowing we can beat some of the best teams in the NBA," Rose said.
"We just have to keep it going."
Once again hearing "M-V-P! M-V-P!"
chants, Rose was at his best when San Antonio challenged Chicago in the fourth
quarter. He had 13 points in the final period, answering Spurs baskets with
acrobatic drives and long jumpers.
"What's great about him is that he seems to
love the pressure," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He loves
putting the team on his back so to speak."
Rose's long jumper as the shot clock expired with 3:21
left gave Chicago a 101-90 lead and took the steam out of one San Antonio
rally. He also finished with eight assists and five rebounds.
"That was some performance," Bulls coach
Tom Thibodeau said. "It was great leadership."
Tony Parker scored 26 points and All-Star Manu
Ginobili added 16 for San Antonio, which had won six of seven. Reserve Gary
Neal made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
"We were not having our best defensive
night," Ginobili said. "We didn't move the ball well. We didn't
penetrate and kick the way we usually do."
Chicago led 83-75 after three quarters and grabbed
control early in the fourth. Ronnie Brewer kickstarted a 11-2 run with a dunk
and finished it off with a jumper that made it 94-80 with 8:08 remaining.
Tim Duncan had 14 points and nine rebounds hours
after Popovich announced he would replace Yao Ming in the Western Conference's
starting lineup for Sunday's All-Star game in Los Angeles.
Duncan enters the break with career-low averages in
points and rebounds, but is a key reason why San Antonio leads the NBA with a
46-10 record.
"It's a great honor," Duncan said.
"I didn't expect to be there this year and I definitely didn't expect to
start, so definitely a great honor."
The Spurs trailed for much of the night in the
finale of their annual rodeo road trip but challenged Chicago with several
bursts. Rose and the Bulls had an answer each time while improving to 25-4 at
home in their best start at the United Center since 1997-98 championship team
won 25 of its first 27 home games.
Duncan hit a running hook and Parker converted a
three-point play to help San Antonio pull within two with 4:49 left in the
third. But Deng stopped the spurt with a 3-pointer and Boozer had three
straight points to make it 79-71.
"The third quarter was huge and then D. Rose
took the game over," Boozer said. "All we had to do was get him the
ball."
Even with the loss, it was a banner first half for
San Antonio, which set several franchise records for fastest starts. The Spurs
went 6-3 on their nine-game trip and open the second half with a three-game
homestand.
"To date we have a good record but nothing of
importance has been accomplished yet," Popovich said.
Rose slithered through San Antonio's stout defense
for 21 points in the first half, making eight of 12 shots from the field. He
scored Chicago's last six points of the second quarter, connecting on a nice
runner, a jumper and two free throws to give the Bulls a 58-51 lead at the
break.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/Charles
Rex Arbogast)
