PHOENIX—Owner Jerry Reinsdorf has seen the Bulls win two in a row since he called his team a “disaster” and “embarrassing.”
His critique seems to be getting results.
The Bulls won their third straight on a Western trip, beating the Phoenix Suns 122-111 Saturday night.
Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose each scored 26 points for Chicago, which never trailed and fended off several Phoenix rallies.
On Friday, Reinsdorf said he would stand up and boo the team after watching some of their recent performances. Then the Bulls won in Sacramento for the first time since Michael Jordan was on the team.
“Whenever you can win, it builds confidence,” said coach Vinny Del Negro, returning to Phoenix for the first time since leaving the Suns after last season. “Now, there’s more of a comfort feeling on both ends of the court. It comes with familiarity with what we’re trying to do.”
The Bulls, who also defeated the Suns at Chicago earlier in the season, swept the season series from Phoenix for the first time since 1996-97. The loss gave the Suns their first losing month since April 2004.
Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with a season-high 32 points. Grant Hill scored 19, Shaquille O’Neal 18, Steve Nash had 15 points and 10 assists, and Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson each scored 12.
Luol Deng added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, Kirk Hinrich had 15 points, and Andres Nocioni and Thabo Sefalosha 11 a piece.
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