Hot Shooting, Balanced Scoring Help Bulls Trample 76ers 103-92

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

One would think that if a team has been on a 7-game, 12-day road trip that the last game would be a reflection of the amount of energy the team in question would have; during Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers at Wachovia Center, you wouldn’t have known that they have been on the road for almost 2 consecutive weeks. They shot well (52.1%) and had balanced scoring, enabling Chicago to defeat Philadelphia 103-92.

The 76ers led by as many as 15 points in the first half before the Bulls went on a 14-0 run to cut their lead to 41-40, capped by a basket by Luol Deng with 4:57 remaining; however, Philadelphia finished the first half strong and would go into halftime with a narrow 55-52 lead. Chicago held a 71-66 lead late in the third quarter before scoring 12 unanswered points to pad their advantage to 83-66. A 3-pointer by the Bulls’ Larry Hughes at the 7:21 mark of the final period pretty much sealed the deal for Chicago.

Chicago’s high scorer was Ben Gordon with 21 points (including 3 treys), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Drew Gooden added 20 with 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal; Derrick Rose pitched in, scoring 18 with 5 rebounds, 10 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Larry Hughes came off the bench to add 16 (with 4 three-pointers) with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Philadelphia was led by Elton Brand with 21 points, 12 rebounds and an assist while Thaddeus Young added 17 with 5 rebounds and 4 assists; Andre Miller pitched in 15 with a rebound, 10 assists and 3 steals. Chicago (8-9) plays again on Tuesday when they host Philadelphia in a rematch.

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