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Rose boosts Bulls over Bucks

Jan 28, 2012 - 5:19 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose was in MVP form on Friday, pouring in a season-high 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center.

Carlos Boozer contributed 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Joakim Noah had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls, who got their NBA-best 17th win despite playing without guard Richard Hamilton, who missed the contest with a thigh bruise. C.J. Watson chipped in 13 points for Chicago.

"My mindset was to attack," Rose said. "Coach [Tom] Thibodeau showed me film of me attacking, so that's what I tried to do when I went out there."

Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee with 25 points and seven rebounds, while Drew Gooden added 23 points and 15 boards and Jon Leuer scored a season-high 19 points.

The Bucks played without center Andrew Bogut, who was diagnosed with a fractured ankle and will miss 8-to-12 weeks. The Bucks had their three-game road winning streak snapped.

Leading by one at halftime, the Bulls put some distance between themselves and the Bucks in the third quarter.

They opened the frame with a quick 7-0 spurt to go ahead 58-50, and a three- pointer by Kyle Korver made it 65-54 with 6:45 left in the quarter.

Chicago also ratcheted up its defensive effort, forcing the Bucks to shoot just 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) in the quarter and outrebounding them, 14-10.

"They were coming out hard on the pick-and-rolls and doubling me a little bit more," Jennings said of the Bulls' defensive effort. "I wasn't able to come off the pick-and-roll like I was in the first half."

Rose was 5-of-7 from the floor for 14 points in the stanza and the Bulls led 79-68 heading to the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee trailed throughout the final quarter, but a jumper by Jennings with 25.5 seconds to play made it interesting, pulling the Bucks within five.

That's as close as they would get, though, as Korver and Noah sank free throws to lock up the win.

A back-and-forth first quarter featured nine lead changes and a five-point lead for each side, but Chicago held a 30-27 edge going into the second.

It was primarily Jennings' show in the first frame, as he drained three treys and scored 16 points, while Rose led the Bulls with 10 points on 4-of-8 from the floor.

The second quarter was also close, with the Bulls leading by as many as six and shooting 41 percent from the floor.

A three-pointer by Stephen Jackson with 1:20 to play in the half gave the Bucks a 48-47 lead, but a layup by Boozer and a dunk by Ronnie Brewer put Chicago up 51-48 with 39 seconds to play. Chicago led by one, 51-50, at the break.

Game Notes

It was the first meeting of the year between the teams. Chicago swept a four- game season series last year...Chicago shot 46 percent from the floor and 5- of-17 from three point range, while the Bucks shot 42.4 percent from the field and 7-of-24 from beyond the arc...Rose's previous season-high in a game was 31 points at Minnesota on January 10...Leuer's previous season-high was 15 against Detroit on January 12...Chicago outrebounded Milwaukee, 50-43.