Both the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors hooked up at Oracle Arena Friday night in a matchup of teams for all intents and purposes are in rebuild mode.  Fortunately for Chicago, they have Derrick Rose; Rose scored 23 second-half points, leading the Bulls to a hard-fought 115-110 victory over the Warriors.  Both teams shot well throughout the game – Chicago at 51.1% while Golden State shot 49.4% while most of the other key stats were very identical.

The first half was a half of attrition with neither team holding a big lead, with Golden State holding a razor-thin 59-57 at halftime; the third quarter was close as well as both teams scored 28 each.  With the Warriors holding an 87-85 lead entering the fourth quarter, Rose would take over for the Bulls; after Golden State’s Andris Biedrins put back a missed shot to reduce Chicago’s lead to 107-104 with 2:26 remaining, Rose hit a jumper, silencing the home crowd. 

Rose would hit a jumper moments later but would leave the game with an apparent injury, colliding with the Warriors’ Corey Maggette with 1:13 left to go in the game; the Bulls would hang on for the win.  Chicago was led by Larry Hughes with 26 points (including five 3-pointers), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Rose added 25 with 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; Drew Gooden chipped in, scoring 18 with 16 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.

Golden State’s leading scorer was Stephen Jackson with an impressive 32 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists but 8 turnovers while Maggette added 24 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Biedrins was solid, pouring in 23 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.  Chicago (6-7) continues their 7-game road trip (thanks to the circus….literally – no joke) when they travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets Sunday while Golden State (5-7) embark on a 5-game road trip as they jet to Philadelphia to face the 76ers – also on Sunday.