Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Derrick Rose scored 18 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed five rebounds, leading the
Chicago Bulls to a 103-92 victory over the
Philadelphia 76ers in the opener of a home-and-home series at the Wachovia Center.
Drew Gooden added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won two of three and will host the Sixers on Tuesday. Chicago finished up their 12- day seven-game road trip with a 3-4 record. Ben Gordon had a team-high 21 points, while Larry Hughes contributed 16 points off the bench in the win.
"We did some good things," Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We moved the basketball well with 26 assists. I thought everybody shared the ball well today. I thought we were a little bit crisper in the second-half. We got out in the transition and we were able to make some shots. We shot the ball in the basket a lot better tonight."
Elton Brand had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who have now lost four in a row. Thaddeus Young posted 17 points, while Andre Miller had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Willie Green contributed 12 points in a reserve role.
"I thought we let our offense dictate our defense," Sixers head coach Mo Cheeks said. "The way we were playing defense early on was great. We got some stops and then they started making a few baskets. Our intensity on the defensive end kind of dropped a little bit and they went on a 20-2 run. We stayed on our heels the whole way."
Heading into the second half down three, the Bulls completely dominated the third quarter, outscoring Philadelphia, 31-11, to take a commanding 83-66 advantage into the fourth. Chicago used a 12-0 run at the end of the quarter to boost its lead to 17 behind eight points and four assists from Rose.
Philadelphia would only come as close as nine in the fourth quarter with under a minute to play, but the Sixers never mounted a serious threat to the Bulls' big lead.
The Sixers used an 18-6 run in the opening quarter to jump out to a 34-24 lead headed into the second quarter.
Philadelphia went up by as many as 15 before Chicago went on a 20-2 run to seize a 46-43 lead on Rose's jumper with three minutes left in the half. The 76ers finished the half on a 12-6 burst to take a 55-52 lead.
Game Notes
The Sixers won last season's series, 3-1...Chicago shot 52.1 percent from the field (38-of-73), while Philadelphia shot only 43.4 percent (36-of-83)...The Bulls made 8-of-15 from three-point range.