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Bench Warmer
Derrick Rose's big fourth quarter and Joakim Noah's block gave the Chicago Bulls a rare road victory.
Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup in the Bulls' 102-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
"He was feeling it," Deng said about Rose. "Just give him the ball and get out of the way."
The first overall pick in the June draft, Rose had 10 assists and was 12-for-18 from the field to help the Bulls improve to 5-15 on the road this season.
"I was just trying to let it come," said Rose, who made eight of nine shots in the fourth. "I knew that me driving would open up a lot of things so I was just trying to get my teammates open."
Noah kept a two-point lead intact when he blocked Chris Bosh's jumper with 5.9 seconds left.
"I give Joe a lot of credit," Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said. "He was sitting there for a bit, I called his number and he came out and made a big play for us."
Noah said the key was not biting on Bosh's initial move.
"I knew he was going to try to pump fake because he pump fakes a lot," Noah said. "I didn't go for his first pump fake and the shot clock was going down so I knew he had to get it up. I got my hand on it and got the block."
A downcast Bosh was forced to chalk it up as a learning experience.
"I made the mistake of picking my dribble up after he cut off the baseline," Bosh said. "It's not going to be the last time we're in a situation like that, or I'm in a situation like that. You just learn from it and keep going."
Andres Nocioni added 16 points, Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Ben Gordon 10 for Chicago, which had lost eight of 11 coming in.
"It feels great to win and be a part of it," Noah said.
Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Bosh scored 25 points, and Anthony Parker had 15.
It was the fourth time this season Bosh and Bargnani have each topped 20 points.
"They played great," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "We pounded it as much as we could inside and scored but we couldn't get the bucket when we needed it."
Trailing 71-68 after three quarters, Chicago took a 77-71 lead by opening the fourth on a 9-0 run, including five points from Rose.
Jason Kapono's 3-pointer and Parker's jumper gave Toronto a 90-89 lead with 4:23 left, but Gordon replied with a 3-pointer from the corner and Rose followed with a layup as Chicago reclaimed the lead, this time for good.
Toronto cut it to 100-98 on a layup by Parker with 29 seconds left, then got the ball back when Hinrich threw an inbounds pass straight to Bosh after losing his balance on the sideline.
"It's my fault, I should have just called a timeout," Hinrich said.
Substituted for Gordon during a Toronto timeout, Noah blocked Bosh's shot before Deng sealed it with a pair of free throws.
Starting in place of Drew Gooden (sore groin), Noah scored eight points in the first as Chicago built a 27-18 lead. Toronto suffered when Bosh went to the bench with two fouls with 3:01 left in the quarter.
The Bulls had widened their edge to 13, at 34-21, by the time Bosh returned with 9:14 left in the second, but Chicago's lead didn't last.
Bosh converted a three-point play on the next possession, sparking a 13-4 run that got the Raptors within four. Toronto went ahead with 51 seconds left in the half when Will Solomon stole the ball from Nocioni and fed Jamario Moon for an alley-oop dunk that made it 45-44. The Raptors led 48-47 at the break.
Deng started for the first time since Dec. 26. He came off the bench in Monday's home loss to Portland after missing the previous eight games with a sore ankle.
"I thought he was more aggressive, especially on the glass," Del Negro said. "He had a couple of nice cuts to the basket. That's what we need from him."
Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup in the Bulls' 102-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
"He was feeling it," Deng said about Rose. "Just give him the ball and get out of the way."
The first overall pick in the June draft, Rose had 10 assists and was 12-for-18 from the field to help the Bulls improve to 5-15 on the road this season.
"I was just trying to let it come," said Rose, who made eight of nine shots in the fourth. "I knew that me driving would open up a lot of things so I was just trying to get my teammates open."
Noah kept a two-point lead intact when he blocked Chris Bosh's jumper with 5.9 seconds left.
"I give Joe a lot of credit," Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said. "He was sitting there for a bit, I called his number and he came out and made a big play for us."
Noah said the key was not biting on Bosh's initial move.
"I knew he was going to try to pump fake because he pump fakes a lot," Noah said. "I didn't go for his first pump fake and the shot clock was going down so I knew he had to get it up. I got my hand on it and got the block."
A downcast Bosh was forced to chalk it up as a learning experience.
"I made the mistake of picking my dribble up after he cut off the baseline," Bosh said. "It's not going to be the last time we're in a situation like that, or I'm in a situation like that. You just learn from it and keep going."
Andres Nocioni added 16 points, Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Ben Gordon 10 for Chicago, which had lost eight of 11 coming in.
"It feels great to win and be a part of it," Noah said.
Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Bosh scored 25 points, and Anthony Parker had 15.
It was the fourth time this season Bosh and Bargnani have each topped 20 points.
"They played great," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "We pounded it as much as we could inside and scored but we couldn't get the bucket when we needed it."
Trailing 71-68 after three quarters, Chicago took a 77-71 lead by opening the fourth on a 9-0 run, including five points from Rose.
Jason Kapono's 3-pointer and Parker's jumper gave Toronto a 90-89 lead with 4:23 left, but Gordon replied with a 3-pointer from the corner and Rose followed with a layup as Chicago reclaimed the lead, this time for good.
Toronto cut it to 100-98 on a layup by Parker with 29 seconds left, then got the ball back when Hinrich threw an inbounds pass straight to Bosh after losing his balance on the sideline.
"It's my fault, I should have just called a timeout," Hinrich said.
Substituted for Gordon during a Toronto timeout, Noah blocked Bosh's shot before Deng sealed it with a pair of free throws.
Starting in place of Drew Gooden (sore groin), Noah scored eight points in the first as Chicago built a 27-18 lead. Toronto suffered when Bosh went to the bench with two fouls with 3:01 left in the quarter.
The Bulls had widened their edge to 13, at 34-21, by the time Bosh returned with 9:14 left in the second, but Chicago's lead didn't last.
Bosh converted a three-point play on the next possession, sparking a 13-4 run that got the Raptors within four. Toronto went ahead with 51 seconds left in the half when Will Solomon stole the ball from Nocioni and fed Jamario Moon for an alley-oop dunk that made it 45-44. The Raptors led 48-47 at the break.
Deng started for the first time since Dec. 26. He came off the bench in Monday's home loss to Portland after missing the previous eight games with a sore ankle.
"I thought he was more aggressive, especially on the glass," Del Negro said. "He had a couple of nice cuts to the basket. That's what we need from him."
