Boozer leads Bulls over Pacers

[December 14, 2010]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds to lead Chicago to a 92-73 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, the Bulls' sixth straight win.

Derrick Rose added 17 points and 12 assists for Chicago and he ignited a 10-0 run after returning from a rest midway through the fourth quarter that broke open a close game.

It's Chicago's first six-game winning streak since Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2006.

Brandon Rush and T.J. Ford both had 13 points for Indiana.

The 73 points was a season-low for Indiana and it was the third straight game Chicago held its opponent to a season-worst total.

The Bulls held the los Angeles Lakers to 84 points on Friday and the Minnesota Timberwolves to 82 points on Saturday.

With the Bulls pulling away, a scary moment occurred with 1:56 to go in the game.

With the crowd chanting "MVP! MVP!" as has been the custom of late, Rose drove into the lane and went up for a layup. Rush moved under him and Rose went to the court hard.

He rolled on the court for several minutes, holding his right wrist. After a timeout, he returned and made one of two free throws, putting Chicago ahead 85-71. Rose was able to finish the game.

The Bulls led 74-69 when Rose returned with 6:01 to play. He scored four points and handed out two assists, both to Boozer, extending the lead to 84-69.

The Pacers never threatened again.

Rose was called for a technical foul in the second quarter, the first in his two-plus seasons in the NBA.

After getting outrebounded in the first half, the Bulls controlled the boards with a 29-14 advantage after the half.

After a back-and-forth start to the third period, the Bulls got the crowd going a little bit with about three minutes left in the quarter.

Noah out-battled Roy Hibbert for an offensive rebound and skipped a pass to an open Luol Deng at the 3-point line. Deng nailed the open shot, giving the Bulls a 59-50 lead.

Chicago was ahead 65-58 after three quarters, led by Boozer's 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Early, it looked like the Bulls were going to enjoy their second straight laugher. Chicago beat Minnesota 113-82 at the United Center on Saturday in game that was never close.

Four Bulls starters scored in the first 2 1/2 minutes as Chicago jumped to 14-2 lead and the other, Keith Bogans, had two steals. The Bulls eventually pushed the lead to 20-4.

The Pacers chipped away at the lead, then finally went ahead on Josh McRoberts' putback slam of a miss by Rush miss, putting Indiana up 34-33 with 5:16 to go in the half. The Bulls led 43-41 at halftime.

[Associated Press]

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