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Battered Dunleavy leads Bulls in rout of Rockets

Mar 14, 2014 - 4:16 AM Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Dunleavy took Chandler Parsons' best shot, left the game in a bloody mess, but returned in the third quarter with a vengeance and buried the Rockets.

Dunleavy scored 18 of his 21 points in the third quarter and boosted the Chicago Bulls to a 111-87 win over Houston Thursday night at United Center.

With 7:54 left in the second quarter, Parsons drove into the lane and his elbow collided with Dunleavy's face. Dunleavy, who held his ground to take the offensive foul, was forced off the court due to excessive bleeding.

Dunleavy received 10 stitches to close the wound and returned to the court to start the third quarter and came out on fire. He scored 10 points during Chicago's 20-2 run to open the period which expanded the lead to 70-44 midway through the quarter.

For the period, Dunleavy went 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and helped the Bulls bounce back from a 104-96 home loss to the Spurs on Tuesday.

"I was able to get back here quick enough. They did a pretty good job of stitching me up," Dunleavy said. "The doctor said I had thick skin."

Joakim Noah narrowly missed a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Chicago, which won for the 12th time in the last 16 contests. Kirk Hinrich scored 19, Carlos Boozer 18 and D.J. Augustin 13 for the Bulls.

James Harden was held to a season-low tying eight points for the Rockets, who have lost back-to-back contests following a five-game winning streak. It's the first time Houston has lost consecutive games since Jan. 24-25, both against Memphis.

Jeremy Lin led the way with 21 points for the Rockets, who also received 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks from Dwight Howard. Houston shot 35.4 percent, including a 5-of-26 showing from 3-point range.

"We did not come out ready to play. I have no idea why," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "If I knew I would stop it. We didn't do anything offensively or defensively to start the game."

Boozer scored 10 in the first quarter to carry the hosts to a 25-20 advantage after 12 minutes. The Rockets went 6-of-20 from the floor in the period.

"We feel the games where we get off to good starts we're pretty successful," Hinrich said.

Lin had nine points in the second quarter, but the Bulls shot 58.8 percent in the stanza, helped by Augustin's 10 points on a 4-of-4 effort from the field.

Two free throws from Howard closed Houston within 35-34 with 5:31 remaining, but Chicago scored 10 of the next 12 points, buoyed by a pair of Augustin 3- pointers. Hinrich's shot from beyond the arc in the closing seconds moved the hosts to a 50-42 edge at the break.

The Bulls led by as many as 29 in the third and coasted in the fourth.

Game Notes

Jimmy Butler scored 11 for the Bulls, who made half of their 86 shots and went 14-of-24 from beyond the arc ... Houston had won the previous four meetings ... Hinrich and Dunleavy combined to go 9-of-12 from 3-point range.