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Rose, Bulls resume road trip in Orlando

Jan 6, 2012 - 3:53 PM (Sports Network) - Chicago Bulls reigning MVP and star point guard Derrick Rose had some extra time to rest his sore elbow and looks to come out firing tonight against the Orlando Magic in the continuation of a three-game trip.

Rose hit his left elbow on the floor in Wednesday's 99-83 win at Detroit and said X-rays taken afterwards were negative. The Bulls had off Thursday and hope the speedy guard is at 100 percent tonight. Rose had 17 points and 10 assists against the Pistons, while Carlos Boozer scored a team-high 19 points in Chicago's fifth straight win.

Former Pistons star Richard Hamilton scored 14 points in the victory.

"A lot of emotion early in the game being on the visitors' side," said Hamilton. "I'm not accustomed to it in this building. It was difficult. I was just like, 'Please man, don't start crying or anything crazy like that.'"

Joakim Noah had 13 points and 11 boards for the Bulls, who are 6-1 on the season and first in the Central Division. The hot start is the best since the 1996-97 squad opened the campaign with a 12-0 ledger. Chicago, which has outscored its opponents by an average of 16.2 ppg during the winning streak, will wrap up the trek Saturday in Atlanta.

Bulls guard C.J. Watson (elbow) is expected to miss Friday's game.

Orlando has won five of six games since losing its season at Oklahoma City on Christmas and posted a 103-85 victory versus winless Washington on Wednesday.

Dwight Howard scored a season-best 28 points and pulled down 20 rebounds for Orlando, which bounced back from a loss at Detroit on Monday and got 23 points and 15 rebounds from Ryan Anderson. J.J. Redick scored 14 points off the bench.

"You know when you play a team like the Wizards that have a lot of offensive talent, but maybe aren't as good defensively, you want to take advantage of getting stops," Redick said.

The Magic jumped out to a 31-14 advantage after the first quarter and never trailed in the contest. They led by as many as 28 points during the second half and improved to 4-0 at home this season.

Orlando will hit the road for four games against the Kings, Blazers, Warriors and Knicks after Friday's home tilt with the Bulls.

Chicago took three of four meetings with Orlando last season, but the Magic are 10-5 in the past 15 encounters. The Bulls have lost six of nine visits to central Florida.