|
 When Dunleavy returned to the game after getting 10 stitches
above his right eye, he seemed to have a better view of the basket.
Playing with a large bandage of his eye, Dunleavy scored 18 of his
team-high 21 points in the third quarter, leading the Bulls to an
easy 111-87 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at
the United Center.
The gash on Dunleavy's forehead came when he successfully took a
charge from Houston forward Chandler Parsons.
"It was a pretty tough hit. My neck is sore, a little bit of
whiplash-type stuff," Dunleavy said. "We're a little concerned about
that. I just knew once they got the stitches done, I was coming
back."
Dunleavy took another charge, against Rockets guard James Harden,
just 1:29 after halftime. He survived that collision and drained 7
of 11 shots from the field in the third quarter.
"To me when you talk about toughness, that's toughness," Chicago
coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Bulls (36-29) knocked down 14 of 24 shots from 3-point range.
Houston leads the NBA in 3-pointers attempted but made just 5 of 26
from behind the arc.
Guard Kirk Hinrich added 19 points for the Bulls and forward Carlos
Boozer scored 18. Center Joakim Noah barely missed his third
triple-double of the season, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds
and nine assists.
Dunleavy's stitches provided fodder for a Noah comedy routine in the
locker room.
"I think it inspired the team," Noah said. "He had a huge knot on
his head, looking like (boxer Evander) Holyfield, the white version.
... It was good for Duke's street credibility."
The Bulls were pounded on Tuesday night by San Antonio, but have now
won 12 of their last 13 games after a loss.
Guard Jeremy Lin led Houston with 21 points and center Dwight Howard
added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Harden tied a season low by scoring
eight points, and Parsons hit 1 of 11 shots from the field for two
points.
The Rockets (44-21) have now lost two in a row after a stretch of
winning 15 of 17 games. They will wrap up a three-game road trip at
Miami on Sunday.
[to top of second column] |
"We did not come out ready to play," Houston coach Kevin McHale
said. "I have no idea why. We were walking it up. We were not
running. We were not coming off screens. We were not doing anything
we said we needed to do."
Leading 50-42 at intermission, Chicago broke the game open by
opening the second half with a 20-2 run. At one point, the Bulls
knocked down 3-point baskets on four of five possessions, two each
by Hinrich and Dunleavy. When guard D.J. Augustin made a 3-pointer,
the lead was 77-48 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Boozer helped the Bulls get off to a fast start, scoring 10 points
in the first quarter. Chicago jumped to a quick 18-10 advantage and
never trailed.
"Everything was lacking," Harden said. "We didn't stop them and they
did whatever they wanted to on defense. We didn't push the ball like
we needed to and the score showed it."
Howard picked up a technical foul with 2:36 left in the second
quarter for complaining to a referee entering a timeout.
NOTES: Houston coach Kevin McHale gave a surprisingly unbiased
opinion on Thursday, plugging Chicago C Joakim Noah for the NBA's
Defensive Player of the Year Award. McHale's starting center, Dwight
Howard, has won it three times. "He (Noah) should be defensive
player of the year," McHale said at the morning shootaround.
"They've been winning a lot just on his energy and effort, his kind
of determination and toughness. Those are all qualities everybody
appreciates." ... Houston G Patrick Beverley played an NBA game in
his hometown of Chicago for the first time on Thursday. Beverley
gave Howard a tour of his West Side neighborhood the day before the
game. When Beverley was in high school, his Marshall team lost in
the 2006 state semifinals to a Simeon squad featuring current Bulls
G Derrick Rose. ... The Rockets started the night with a 20-3 record
against teams from the Eastern Conference, including 14-0 at home.
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