You would think with a moniker like the “Great Pooh-Dini” that Derrick Rose would be a perfect candidate to headline this story. But Rose, who finished with a respectable 15 points and eight assists, would have to share the spotlight on Saturday night with fellow Bulls teammate Luol Deng who scored a season-high 26 points in the Bulls 117-110 victory over the Washington Wizards at the United Center.
“I felt good tonight,” said Deng. “The ball was moving, and when it's like that, it's hard to stop us.”
Deng, who signed a six-year contract extension in the off-season, was shooting just 41 percent from the field coming into the game but finished the game 11-for-19 from the field.
“I was very impressed with Luol's play on both ends of the court tonight,” said Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro. “He was able to cause problems for them with his length and his size,” Del Negro said. “Especially on the offensive end of the floor.”
Del Negro was also impressed with the team’s overall play, and bench contribution from Larry Hughes, with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting; Ben Gordon, with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting; Andres Nocioni, with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting; Derrick Rose, with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting; and Drew Gooden with 12 point on 4-of-10 shooting. Del Negro's use of Gordon, Rose, Nocioni, Hughes and Deng turned a 69-64 lead into a 92-76 bulge over an eight-minute stretch of the third and fourth quarters. This lineup helped catapult the Bulls to their ninth victory of the season.
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