Rose, Deng Guide Bulls Past Heat, 95-91

The Chicago Bulls, looking to stay alive and well in the Eastern Conference, knew they had to beat one of their competitors for the East’s bottom seeds on Saturday night to end their three-game losing streak.

Luckily for Chicago, their two stars, Luol Deng and Derrick Rose were feeling it. Rose scored 24, Deng dropped 25, and the Bulls beat Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat 95-91.

“Definitely, we needed this one,” Rose said. “It gives us more confidence. Our locker room was way more cheerful than it was the past couple of games. Now, we just got to keep it going.”

The win came on a most unlikely of nights, as forward Tyrus Thomas had been suspended from the game for conduct detrimental to the team. For a team already missing starting center Joakim Noah, the Heat went early and often to center Jermaine O’Neal to punish them up front.

“We needed [the win],” Deng said. “We were missing those guys, especially with the rebounding.”

The Bulls allowed the Heat to cut their lead to two points in the fourth quarter, but Rose stepped up in crunch time, knocking down clutch buckets and even more clutch free throws.

Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 4:50 pm by bryan

Noah won’t play until after All-Star break

The Chicago Bulls have shut down forward Joahkim Noah until at least after the NBA All-Star break.

Noah is dealing with a plantar fasciitis issue in his left foot, a condition that has been known to sideline players for significant periods of time. He will be re-evaluated at that time.

He recently left the team in the midst of their road trip to head back to Chicago and receive treatment for the injury. The only real way to treat the injury is to rest it, which can be a very frustrating process.

It’s been a breakout season for Noah, who is averaging 11.2 points and 12 rebounds per game and a big reason why the Bulls have played better of late.

Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:06 am by steve