Rose carries Bulls past Rockets 95-92

[November 17, 2010]  HOUSTON (AP) -- Derrick Rose scored 17 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and the Chicago Bulls opened their seven-game road trip with a 95-92 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Rose also had seven assists, and Luol Deng added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who won their fourth straight overall and earned their first victory in three road games this season.

Luis Scola scored 27 points and former Bull Brad Miller added 21 for the Rockets, who've lost their last four meetings with Chicago after winning 11 of the previous 12.

The Bulls went 15 for 28 from the free throw line, but hit 6-of-8 attempts in the final minute to hold off Houston.

The Rockets led 71-63 after three quarters, but Rose sank two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth at the start of an 18-0 Chicago spurt.

Houston started the fourth quarter with four turnovers and six straight misses. Rose swished another 3-pointer with 7:37 left to finish the run and give the Bulls their biggest lead, 81-71.

Shane Battier scored inside and Miller flipped in a short shot to cut the Bulls' lead to 89-86 with a minute to play. Rose missed a layup in traffic, but Kyle Lowry missed a fadeaway at the other end and Chicago rebounded.

The Bulls missed 11 of their first 20 free throws, but Noah calmly sank a pair with 22 seconds left to stretch Chicago's lead to 91-86.

Scola scored inside before Deng put it away with two free throws with 13 seconds left.

The Bulls took advantage of Yao Ming's absence inside to outrebound Houston 40-32. Yao sat out for the third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

The team initially said Yao was expected to miss a week, but coach Rick Adelman said before the game that he didn't know when the seven-time All-Star center would return.

With Miller starting in the middle, Battier sank three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Houston build an early lead. Rose had eight points and two assists in the quarter, but the Rockets led 26-19.

Both teams went to their benches to start the second quarter, and the Bulls opened with a 12-2 spurt. Rose returned with 6:03 left in the half and the score tied 32-all.

Rose assisted on baskets by Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson in the final minute of the half to put Chicago up 49-41 at the break.

Rose had 10 points and five assists in the first half. Scola had 13 points in the half to lead Houston.

Chicago missed its first five shots out of halftime, and the Rockets cut the deficit to two. The Bulls led 60-57 when Rose left with his fourth foul with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

The Bulls unraveled without Rose on the floor, going 1 for 6 and committing five turnovers over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the quarter.

NOTES: Referees took away two baskets by Lowry in the fourth quarter after checking instant replay and ruling that he didn't beat the shot clock on either of them. ... Bulls G Kyle Korver made both of his 3-point attempts is now 14-for-23 on the season. ... Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS DUNCAN]

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