The Chicago Bulls defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-110 on Friday. The win was the 1st career road win for Vinny Del Negro and the 1st road win for the Bulls during the young 2008-9 NBA season. It came at a great time given the Bulls looked out of sorts during the 1st 2 road games at Los Angeles and Portland. Although they trailed by 1 point after 3 quarters, the Bulls road rookie Derrick Rose’s superb 2nd half and Larry Hughes’ hot shooting to pull away down the stretch.
The Bulls outscored the Warriors 30-23 in the 4th quarter. Rose scored 23 of his 25 points in the 2nd half, including 12 points in the decisive 4th quarter. He also had 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Larry Hughes poured in 26 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Hughes was 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Drew Gooden also chipped in an impressive night – 18 points and 16 boards. With the hamstring injury to Luol Deng, Vinny Del Negro inserted Tabo Sefolosha into the starting forward position, and he responded with a quality game – 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 27 minutes of play.
The Bulls had trouble stopping Warriors’ forwards Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette all night long, but did just enough to preserve the win down the stretch. Jackson went off for 32 points and 6 assists, while Maggette added 24 points and 7 boards.
The Bulls looked to be in serious trouble in the road trip after lackluster performances against the Lakers and Trailblazers to open the trip. The win over the Warriors should take a little heat off the team for now. The face stiff challenges against the Nuggets and Jazz on Sunday and Monday nights, so hopefully they can steal a game against the Spurs or 76ers at the end of the trip in order to salvage 2 wins on the road trip. It won’t be easy, but with performances like last night in the mix, anything is possible.
Tags: Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, NBA
