• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bulls shut down Thunder

Dec 7, 2010 - 7:27 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Carlos Boozer racked up a season-best 29 points to go along with 12 rebounds, as Chicago downed Oklahoma City, 99-90, at United Center.

Luol Deng donated 19 points and eight rebounds, Kyle Korver chipped in with 13 points off the bench and Chicago came out on top against one of the league's top teams despite just 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting from Derrick Rose. The Bulls have won two games in a row.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points with five rebounds, Nenad Krstic contributed 18 points and six rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Thunder, who have lost two of three.

"We got looks but we couldn't hit them when they needed to be made," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said.

The two teams traded blows in the opening stanza with neither landing the knockout punch. Chicago led by as many as six points early on and held a 24-22 advantage at the period's conclusion.

Back-to-back threes from Korver opened a 44-36 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, and the Bulls opened an 11-point edge, 51-40, on Deng's three-pointer not even three minutes later. Oklahoma City tallied the next eight points, but Boozer's jumper set the margin at 53-48 after 24 minutes of game action.

"I just try to do whatever I can," Boozer said. "My job is to be aggressive offensively and I will be. My job is to play good defense and rebound the ball, so that's what I'm focused on."

Chicago used the third quarter to create some breathing room with the visiting Thunder. Keith Bogans, not known for his scoring ability, tallied five points in a 25-second span to open a 65-54 advantage. Rose, who struggled with his shooting touch for most of the game, slashed to the basket for a layup and buried a trey to beat the buzzer for an 82-66 lead.

The Bulls opened the lead to 90-73 on Gibson's slam off a great interior pass by Deng, and Chicago was not seriously threatened down the stretch.

Game Notes

Boozer had just 42 points in his first three games, but made 13-of-21 shots in the victory...The Bulls made 48.3 percent of their shots overall, including a 5-of-11 effort from long distance...Oklahoma City shot just 35.4 percent, made only 4-of-19 three-pointers and was outrebounded 52-39, yet hung in with a 28- of-31 effort from the charity stripe...Chicago has won seven of the last 10 meetings.