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Gordon leads balanced attack as Bulls crush Warriors

Mar 1, 2007 - 6:15 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ben Gordon and the Chicago Bulls continue to come away smiling at home.

Gordon scored 22 points to lead six players in double figures for the Bulls en route to a 113-83 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Rookie Thabo Sefolosha scored a season-high 19 points and Adrian Griffin chipped in a season-best 17 points for Chicago, which improved to 23-8 at the United Center.

"I don't want to say anything disparaging against Golden State, but it is hard to evaluate someone's play in a blowout game," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "Thabo was good and Adrian was excellent again."

The Bulls have won six straight meetings here against the Warriors, who fell to a dismal 1-15 showing in the second game of a back-to-back set.

Chicago held a slim 62-58 advantage at intermission before pulling away for good in the third quarter.

With the help of rookie Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls opened the period with an aggressive 16-6 surge through the first six minutes. He netted seven of his 14 points during the run.

"I just wanted to come out hard, that is the most important thing for me," Thomas said. "I want to continue to help our team win. Rebounding is where I can help this team the most right now."

Chicago shot 62 percent (10-of-16) in the quarter, outscoring Golden State, 33-11, for a commanding 95-69 bulge at the start of the fourth.

"They wore down and we had to take advantage of that," Gordon said. "I think in the second half we did a good job of doing that."

The Warriors were never able to recover in dropping their fourth straight game.

"It was just a clear case of having nothing left in the tank in the second half," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "I suppose that was the reason for our performance, even though I thought we played well in the first half."

Golden State could only dress 10 players due to their most recent injuries to Stephen Jackson (toe) and Baron Davis (knee).

"You probably are going to get your (butt) whipped, that's probably what is going to happen," Nelson said. "You just have to ride it out. I defiantly feel responsible. I thought I could get this team in the playoffs and it doesn't look like I am going to be able to."

Kelenna Azubuike scored 23 points and Jason Richardson added 17 for Golden State, which shot 40 percent (33-of-83) from the field and committed 22 turnovers.

"I can't remember such a disruptive year with all the injuries and all," Nelson said. "Even the trade (involving eight players with Indiana), although it was good for us, set us a back a bit in terms of what we were doing. We are just not strong enough to overcome all the adjustments.

"I have been spoiled having the great team I had the last eight years in Dallas, which we built similar to this. All you can do is fight through it until you turn it around."