The Morning After: Bulls Are Five Alive

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 30, 2010 4:30PM

Break up the Bulls! The team has hit their longest winning streak of the season - all on the road - at five games after edging the New Orleans Hornets in overtime 108-106. Luol Deng not only led the team with 26 points but also had the game tying basket with less than a second left. The teams stayed close for most of the first half with the Bulls pulling away for a seven point halftime lead. They extended that lead in the third quarter, leading by as many as 15. But the Hornets fought back in the fourth, even taking the lead at times. After Deng's last second shot sent the game to overtime, it was Derrick Rose - who had 18 points - hitting two free throws to put the Bulls up for good while a Brad Miller shot extended the lead. Joakim Noah also had a solid night, scoring 13 and pulling down 18 rebounds. The Bulls remain a distant second in the division and seventh overall in the Eastern Conference but the recent winning streak - which has been through a solid portion of the strong Western Conference - has put the Bulls over .500 again at 23-22. Now the team gets a few days off to rest up before returning home to face the LA Clippers on Tuesday (7 p.m., CSN).