Final
Streaking Bulls visit resurgent Nets
Mar 17, 2011 - 2:43 PM (Sports Network) - You can bet Chicago likes the view from the top of the mountain and the Bulls plan to stay there Thursday when they kick off a brief two-game road trip in the Garden State against the resurgent New Jersey Nets.The red-hot Bulls matched a season-high by winning their seventh straight game on Tuesday when Derrick Rose and Company 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 dropping to second. Boston, however, rebounded on Wednesday with a win over Indiana and is again tied with the Bulls.
Rose, a serious MVP candidate this season, ended with 23 points and seven assists against the Wizards for the Central Division champion Bulls, who triumphed despite playing without both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, and have won 10 of 11 overall. 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."
Boozer, who has missed the last three games with a sprained left ankle, is likely to remain on the sidelines tonight, while Noah could be back after sitting out Tuesday with flu-like symptoms.
The Nets won their fifth straight game to improve to 5-1 on a lengthy seven- game homestand with an 88-79 win over the Celtics on Monday. Brook Lopez led all scorers with 20 points in that one.
Kris Humphries posted a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, who have won five in a row for the first time since Dec. 28-Jan. 5 of the 2007-08 campaign. The five-game stretch is also New Jersey's longest home winning streak since a 14-game spurt from March 12-April 6, 2006.
"It was really a good game out there tonight," said Lopez. "But our bench and our defense was able to keep up and it was a good win for us."
Deron Williams had a solid game with 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the victory.
Home cooking has meant a lot in this series recently with the host taking four straight and six of seven when these two teams meet.
The Bulls haven't won eight straight games since a nine-game run from March 19-April 2, 2005. However, Chicago has dropped 16 of its last 17 trips to New Jersey.
- CHICAGO: 84
NEW JERSEY: 73
Final
Mar 17 9:23 PM - CHICAGO: 60
NEW JERSEY: 50
End of 3rd
Mar 17 8:46 PM - CHICAGO: 43
NEW JERSEY: 36
Halftime
Mar 17 8:05 PM - CHICAGO: 24
NEW JERSEY: 20
End of 1st
Mar 17 7:39 PM - CHICAGO: 0
NEW JERSEY: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Mar 17 7:11 PM
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