Morning Box Score: Bulls Hold Off Lakers
By Staff in News on Dec 11, 2010 3:00PM
By: Angie Wiatrowski
Bulls 88, Lakers 84: For more than a decade, Kobe Bryant played to the chants of "MVP!" Last night, it was Derrick Rose's turn. Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers put Rose and the Bulls to the test and the team passed with flying colors, led by their All-star point-guard. The Bulls beat the Lakers 88-84 with Rose contributing 29 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds to match a season best with the Bull's fourth straight victory.
The Bulls overcame a slow start, trailing by 13 points in the first quarter, but came back big after Rose's stepback jumper with 25.2 seconds left, bringing the Bulls to an 85-80 lead after Bryant led an 11-2 run to bring the Lakers back.
Tom Thibodeau put his faith in his bench again as Kyle Korver scored 8 of his 13 points in the second leading to a solid 26-13 edge in bench points. Ronnie Brewer, who scored 10 points off the bench, and Luol Deng were also big contributors, guarding Bryant who scored 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting.
Rose made it a two-possession game when he hit the second of two free throws with 14.9 seconds left.
The 84 points marked a season low for the Lakers and the Lakers shot 43.6 percent from the field and scored only 10 points in the second quarter. Carlos Boozer finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Bulls 41-40 in the rebound battle.