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 Gordon, Deng Lead Bulls Over Sonics
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[December 12, 2007]
CHICAGO (AP)
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Ben Gordon scored 27 points, Luol Deng added 20, and the Chicago Bulls scored their most lopsided victory of the season by pounding the Seattle SuperSonics 123-96 on Tuesday night.
It was the fifth win in seven games for the Bulls, who were coming off a 92-81 loss to Boston. This seems like a good time for Chicago to jump start a disappointing season considering Tuesday's game was the first of three this week against teams with losing records.
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 The Bulls visit Indiana on Wednesday and host the dysfunctional New York Knicks on Friday. Against Seattle, they finally looked like the team many expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title.
They got open looks and, more importantly, hit them.
The league's worst shooting team, Chicago converted 53.7 percent of its field goals. The Bulls led 67-49 at halftime after outscoring the Sonics by 14 in the second quarter and never let up.
Sonics rookie Kevin Durant scored 16 points in 24 minutes, but he had no help.
The Bulls had plenty of balance, though.
Gordon immediately served notice that he was on target after a miserable performance in Saturday's 92-81 loss to Eastern Conference leader.
He hit his first four shots and scored 14 points in the first quarter. He was 12-of-19 overall from the field, after going 5-for-20 and missing all 10 shots in the second half against the Celtics on Saturday.
Deng scored eight points late in the second quarter.
Joe Smith added a season-high 19 points, and Kirk Hinrich finished with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
The Bulls got nine rebounds from Tyrus Thomas, who was active during an 11-point run that bumped a five-point lead to 51-35. He had a steal that led to two free throws and a block that resulted in a 22-footer for Andres Nocioni.
Smith, meanwhile, started the run with a jumper and ended it with a layup.
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Deng scored eight points over the final 3:34 of the half, and Gordon ended it with a fling at the buzzer, drawing a roar from the crowd.
A 37.3-percent shooter entering the game, Gordon hit six of seven shots in the first quarter. He popped out to the wing for a jumper, hit a 3 from the top of the key and buried another shot from the wing in the first four minutes. He struck again late in the quarter, hitting another 3 from the top with 2:47 left. After missing a jumper, he converted a driving layup and a breakaway in the final 39 seconds.
Notes: Durant got to see a few Chicago sites on Monday, but he missed one landmark: the Michael Jordan statue outside the United Center. "I wish I could have seen the front of the Jordan statue, but we rode past that," he said. The Sonics arrived in Chicago after Sunday's game at New Orleans. ... Seattle G Delonte West missed his fourth straight game with right foot plantar fasciitis. ... Chicago's Thomas, who recently lost his spot in the starting lineup, played 20 minutes after getting no time the previous two games. ... Chicago swept both games against the Sonics last season.
[Associated Press; By ANDREW SELIGMAN]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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