The Morning After

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 4, 2010 3:30PM

Bulls Outlast Bobcats
The Bulls kept pace with the Toronto Raptors for the last playoff spot in the East as they outlasted the Charlotte Bobcats 96-88. The Bulls led much of the way until the Bobcats put on a run, punctuated by an 18-4 stretch from the late third quarter to the early fourth when they managed to go up on the Bulls at 79-74. But the Bulls answered back with a run of their own to take back the lead and then held off the Bobcats for the much-needed victory. Derrick Rose led the team with 26 points and Kirk Hinrich added 24. Joakim Noah (11-16) and Taj Gibson (14-15) both had double-doubles and Luol Deng, back in the starting lineup, scored 12. The Bulls next welcome the hot Bucks to town on Tuesday night (7 p.m., WGN).

Fire Draw With Rapids
The Fire haven't had much luck in Colorado - winning only once in their last 11 matches there - so while a win would have been nice, they're probably happy with the 2-2 draw they pulled. Colorado scored first early but the Fire answered back when Collins John headed in a goal in the 26th minute, set up by a Marco Papa corner kick. After Connor Casey got the lead back for Colorado on a penalty kick, the Fire would get the equalizer on a Brian McBride penalty kick following a take-down of Patrick Nyarko in the box. Andrew Dykstra had a pair of saves in the match for the Fire. Next up is the home opener for the Fire when they welcome San Jose to town next Saturday (7:30 p.m.).

Spring Training
The Cubs finished up their Spring Training on a high note, shutting out the Diamonbacks 6-0 behind four scoreless innings from Randy Wells. They'll officially open the season tomorrow in Atlanta (3:10 p.m. WCIU, ESPN).

The White Sox also finished Spring Training with a win, clobbering the Braves 12-4. Omar Vizquel and Mark Kotsay had 3 RBIs each. The White Sox start the 2010 campaign tomorrow afternoon at home against Cleveland (1:05 p.m., CSN, ESPN2).