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Red-hot Bulls win seventh straight, take over first in East

Mar 16, 2011 - 6:00 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose and the Bulls overcame JaVale McGee's 12 blocks to post a 98-79 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The win moved Chicago (48-18) into first place in the Eastern Conference, with the idle Celtics (47-18) dropping to second.

McGee's first-career triple-double came in the form of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks. He became the first NBA player to record 12 blocks in a game since Toronto's Keon Clark did it on March 23, 2001.

Manute Bol holds Washington's franchise record with 15 blocks in a game.

Rose ended with 23 points and seven assists for the red-hot Bulls, who have won seven in a row.

Luol Deng tallied 20 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, which got 17 points and five boards from Keith Bogans.

"Everyone is talking about how great we are," Deng said. "Human nature is that it's easy for us to fall into that trap of thinking we're going to walk out there and win."

Jordan Crawford finished with a career-high 27 points for the Wizards, who fell to 1-30 on the road this season. John Wall added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Holding an 11-9 edge with under eight minutes left in the first quarter, Bogans sparked an 11-2 run with a pair of three-pointers. Rose capped the burst with a three-point play to make it 22-11 with over 4 1/2 minutes to go.

Chicago led by as many as 14 in the first quarter and took a 31-19 lead into the second.

Washington scored 11 straight points late in the second stanza to get within one, 47-46. Kurt Thomas stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 50-46 edge at the half.

Holding a 62-54 lead midway through the third, Chicago went on an 11-1 burst to create some distance. Bogans made a three-pointer during the run, which Deng capped with a bank shot for a 73-55 margin with 1:51 remaining.

The Bulls took a 75-60 edge into the fourth, a period in which the home team led by as many as 20.

McGee completed his unconventional triple-double on slam with 18.7 seconds to play. His 12 blocks are the most a player has had against Chicago in a regulation contest.

"We started three rookies," Wizards head coach Flip Saunders said. "We had a lot of opportunities to fold, especially the we've played the last week or so. I thought our guys played hard. We just ran out of gas."

Game Notes

The Bulls won all four of their games against the Wizards this season...Washington has lost five in a row and 12 of 13 overall...Chicago has won 12 consecutive games at United Center, its longest run at home since a 17- game spurt from November 14, 1997-January 21, 1998 during the franchise's last championship season...The Bulls are an Eastern Conference-best 30-4 on their home floor this year...Thomas had eight points and 15 rebounds...Chicago went 12-of-32 from beyond the arc.