Bulls Fall To Golden State
Carlos Boozer's double-double wasn't enough for the Chicago Bulls. They fell to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Monta Ellis scored 33 points, Stephen Curry had 23 and the Golden State Warriors snapped Chicago's six-game wining streak with a 101-90 victory over the Bulls on Saturday night.
The tandem sparked a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that sealed Golden State's third straight win in one of its more impressive defensive efforts of the season. Dorell Wright added 20 points and David Lee scored 13 for the Warriors.
Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Derrick Rose finished with a quiet 14 points and 10 assists for the Bulls, who were playing only their second game of a critical road stretch. They were never in rhythm and fatigued early, dropping their first game in more than two weeks.
This was hardly the kind of effort a Chicago team looking to be considered one of the NBA's elite wanted to show.
Even not at their best, the Bulls took a 75-74 lead on Boozer's jumper with 10:54 remaining. Then it all came crashing down with a spotty defensive effort against one of the more prolific scoring teams.
The Warriors ran off 15 straight points behind Ellis and Curry, who had 13 points during the run. The undersized guards blew by Rose and Co., pulling away for an easy victory.
Surely this one left the Bulls frustrated.
They have quietly stayed in the thick of the race for the Eastern Conference's top spot despite being short-handed for most of the season, with Boozer missing the first 15 games because of a broken bone in his right hand and Joakim Noah out until after the All-Star break recovering from thumb surgery.
They just never could stay consistent against Golden State.
Rose had his usual eye-popping plays, perhaps the best coming on a twisting layup over - and around - Warriors center Andris Biedrins that even brought Golden State fans to their feet. Kyle Korver followed with a pair of 3-pointers, and Chicago went ahead by 12 points in the second quarter.
All that was quickly erased with a technical foul by Boozer and an uncontested dunk that Ronnie Brewer short-armed and missed badly. Ellis rallied the Warriors with some stealth offense, slicing through the paint for layups and dunks to give Golden State a 48-47 halftime lead.
The Warriors stayed steady from there and finally showed some fight during their longest homestand of the season.
Golden State has only two games left in a stretch of 13 of 14 at home, and they're 7-5 so far. Chicago and Utah are their only victories during the stretch against teams with winning records.
NOTES: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Noah is making progress in his recovery but is still likely a few weeks away from returning. "He's doing well," Thibodeau said. "He's coming along, right on schedule, doing more and more every day. He's making good, steady progress." ... Warriors backup SG Acie Law missed the game with a sprained right wrist. ... Thibodeau said he would've voted for Warriors G Monta Ellis to make the All-Star team if he was in the Western Conference. Ellis was one of the last few to miss out despite being No. 6 in the NBA in scoring.
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