The Bulls accomplished a few major milestones on Friday night. With the 109-98 win over the Kings in Sacramento, the Bulls won for the first time in that venue since 1997 – when Michael Jordan played for the Bulls. The Bulls also won back-to-back road games for the first time all season long. The starting 5 continues to play well together. Here are the numbers:
Boy did the Bulls need a win in a bad way. They had lost 6 of their last 7 games, including 3 straight, the last of which was a demoralizing 10-point loss to the lowly Timberwolves at the United Center on Saturday night. Although it wasn’t pretty, the Bulls held on for a 99-94 win over the struggling Sacramento Kings. The Bulls hit their first 25 free throws, tying a club record, and made 29 straight at one point before making only 4 of 7 down the stretch. The misses almost cost the Bulls the win as the Kings were able to hang within 3 points – 1 lucky shot – through the last minute of the game.
Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 24 points and 4 rebounds. Drew Gooden returned from an ankle injury that had prevented him from playing the last 8 games to score 18 points and grab 10 boards. They are truly a different team without Gooden in the lineup. Derrick Rose bounced back from a couple of sub-par performances. Rose scored 16 points and dished out 8 assists. Larry Hughes and Tyrus Thomas each scored in double-digits, with 10 points and 14 points, respectively.
The Bulls overcame a great performances from the Kings Kenyon Martin who finished with 29 points. He did, however, turn the ball over 7 times. Brad Miller also had a solid night for the Kings – 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Next up for the Bulls are 2 home games against very beatable opponents – Friday night against the 7-26 Wizards and Saturday night against the 5-30 Thunder.
