Bulls stay hot, top Blazers in OT

Basketball Betting Lines

02/26/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luol Deng scored seven points in overtime, and Derrick Rose scored 33 overall, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Deng finished with 23 points and seven boards, while Rose went 15-of-25 from the field for the Bulls, who have won six of seven overall and snapped a five- game losing streak to the Blazers. Kirk Hinrich provided 17 points, while Hakim Warrick had 15 in the win.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Portland, which fell to 2-1 on a five-game road trip. Brandon Roy added 23 points and six assists, while Andre Miller had 14 points and seven assists in defeat.

Roy gave the Blazers a 107-106 lead with a layup just over a minute into overtime, but the Bulls scored the next six points to take control.

Hinrich, Deng and Taj Gibson each hit a shot on consecutive possessions for Chicago, putting the hosts ahead by five with two minutes to go.

The Blazers missed four consecutive shots during that spurt; Gibson had an excellent block on Aldridge with a minute to go, but Joakim Noah threw away the rebound, leading to an Aldridge dunk for a 112-109 game with 55.3 ticks left.

Gibson was stripped of the ball in the lane on the next Bulls possession, but Roy missed both free throw attempts after being fouled. Fortunately for Portland, Aldridge got inside position and tipped the ball in with 21.9 seconds left for a one-point contest.

Deng made only 1-of-2 free throws a second later, and Roy went to the lane for a tying shot. He couldn't get a good look and settled for a potential go-ahead three that fell short. Deng was able to get a fast-break dunk with a second left to seal the game.

The Bulls jumped out to a 30-22 lead after one quarter, but the Blazers managed to climb to within 52-51 at halftime.

Jerryd Bayless hit a trio of free throws with 4:14 left in the third to cap a 14-4 burst that put Portland ahead by nine, 73-64, but Chicago dominated the remainder of the period and grabbed an 80-79 lead heading to the fourth on a Noah tip shot in the final moments.

The teams traded the lead several times in the fourth, and the Bulls took a 96-95 advantage with four minutes left after a Rose layup capped a 6-0 burst.

The Bulls held a 100-99 lead after a Noah basket with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the game, and Rose expanded the advantage to three with a deft move down the lane and a soft floating layup with two minutes to go.

The Blazers struggled to close the gap, failing to come away with points on each of its next three possessions.

Chicago couldn't extend its lead, and as Rose held for a shot with 30 seconds to play, Portland double-teamed him, forcing the second-year player to turn the ball over. Roy grabbed the loose ball and converted a layup with 25.5 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Brad Miller eventually went to the line for Chicago but could only hit one of his two attempts, and Roy quickly came down the court and tied the game on a floater with 16 seconds left.

Rose waited for the final shot and drove to the hoop, but his high-arching layup attempt rimmed out to send the game to overtime.

Game Notes

The teams split the season series, 1-1...Portland's three-game road win streak came to an end...The Bulls are 17-7 over their last 24 games...The Blazers also visit Minnesota and Memphis on their road trip...Chicago is 5-1 in overtime this season.