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Bulls end circus road trip with win over Kings

Nov 28, 2010 - 8:12 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 16-point deficit for a 96-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Luol Deng added 22 points, including 13 as the Bulls outscored Sacramento, 27-9, in the fourth quarter to finish their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.

Jason Thompson scored 18 points and Tyreke Evans had 17 to lead four Kings players in double figures, but Sacramento fell to 1-10 in its last 11 games.

Chicago's "circus" road trip -- so named because the circus takes over the United Center every year in mid-November -- ended with a winning record for the first time since the 1997-98 season, which was Michael Jordan's last with the team.

To get over the top, the Bulls staged a strong second-half comeback.

Sacramento, after taking a 28-21 lead into the second quarter, earned its biggest lead of the game when two Thompson free throws made it 57-41 near the end of the half.

The Bulls cut their deficit to 57-44 heading into the locker room, but still trailed by double digits for most of the third quarter until a short 8-0 burst pulled them within six.

The Kings carried a seven-point lead into the fourth, 76-69, but only scored nine points in the final 12 minutes on 3-of-21 shooting.

"I thought our defense was good enough to win the game," Sacramento head coach Paul Westphal said of his team's second-half performance. "But our offense was something that was out of some horror book."

Chicago, meanwhile, scored 27 points in the fourth quarter -- including 13 from Deng. The Bulls began the quarter on a 9-0 burst, taking a 78-76 lead on Rose's two free throws with 9:05 remaining.

The game was tied three times after that, but the Bulls put together a decisive 11-0 run to take control. Rose and Joakim Noah scored four points apiece in the spurt, and Deng punctuated it with a three-pointer to give Chicago a 94-83 lead with 2:07 left.

Game Notes

Noah had 17 points...Donte Green scored 13 points and Samuel Dalembert had 12 for Sacramento...Rose returned after missing Friday's loss at Denver because of neck spasms...Chicago has only won six of the past 23 meetings between the teams.