November 14th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The Chicago Bulls, in their game on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks, may have proved their mettle under trying circumstances as they managed to rebound from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Mavericks 98-91 at United Center. The game also marked the season debut of Bulls guard Larry Hughes, fully recovered from a sprained shoulder sustained in a preseason game last month.
Dallas would explode to an early 24-5 lead less than six minutes into the first quarter, but Chicago would recover somewhat, reeling off 7 straight points, eventually cutting the Mavericks’ lead to 4. Chicago ended up trailing by 10 after the first period when Dallas’ DeSagana Siop tipped in a missed shot just before the buzzer. The Bulls’ Luol Deng led a comeback with 12 points as Chicago went on a 22-9 run, giving the Bulls a 51-50 halftime lead.
A 15-6 explosion, led with 8 points by Derrick Rose, would give the Bulls a 66-56 lead; they would take the game into their hands as they went up 78-70 going into the fourth quarter. The final period found both teams trading baskets as Chicago slowly pulled away for the victory. Chicago’s leading scorer was Ben Gordon with a game-high 35 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists while Deng added 20 with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Rose chipped in, scoring 16 with 9 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.
Josh Howard led all Mavericks scorers with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Erick Dampier and Jason Terry scored 16 each – with Dampier grabbing 18 rebounds, dishing out an assist with a steal and 3 blocked shots while Terry grabbed 2 boards and dished out 2 assists. Chicago (4-5) plays again on Saturday when they finish their 5-game homestand as they host the Indiana Pacers while Dallas (2-6) returns home to host the Orlando Magic on Friday.
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