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Rockets, Bulls hope to bounce back

Dec 22, 2007 - 3:21 PM Houston (12-14) at Chicago (9-15) 8:30 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) - The slumping Houston Rockets aim for their first win in three games when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

On the first stop on its four-game road swing, Houston dropped a hard-fought 112-111 double-overtime decision to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

"We did a lot of good things, we just didn't get a chance to finish it," Rockets Rick Adelman said. "They made two big shots at the end."

Rockets center Yao Ming had 26 points and 19 rebounds as he tried to pick up the slack left by teammate Tracy McGrady, who sat out with a sore left knee.

Houston has captured 12 of the last 16 meetings against Chicago, including a sweep in the season series a year ago.

The Bulls are coming off another lackluster performance, a 107-82 setback to the Boston Celtics on Friday with Ben Gordon leading the way with 19 points.

"You hope for more," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "It just seemed like we gave in to it a little bit. And against a team like that they are going to sense that, (and) you're going to be in trouble."

Chicago's Ben Wallace missed his second straight contest with bone spurs in his left foot. The former Defensive Player of the Year leads the club in rebounds with 8.7 per game.