Morning Box Score: Bulls Have First Losing Streak In Nearly 14 Months
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 3, 2012 1:30PM
Talk about raised expectations: prior to Monday night, the Bulls went 86 regular season games without back-to-back losses. While Sunday's mauling in Oklahoma City was expected (with or without Derrick Rose in the lineup), blowing a 15-point first half lead with some sloppy play in the second half wasn't.
The Bulls committed 19 turnovers, resulting in 24 Houston points. Goran Dragic led the Rockets with 20 points, followed by Luis Scola 18 points and 12 rebounds. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was frustrated by the turnovers after the game.
"Started the first quarter the same way. Ended the second (quarter) the same way. Started the third quarter the same way. No edge. No defense. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers."
Luol Deng led all scorers with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Carlos Boozer had a double double — 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls first back-to-back losses since Feb. 5-7, 2011 have the armchair quarterbacks who host and listen to sports talk radio screaming the sky is now falling. Maybe it's simply a course correction, but a 14-8 record without Rose this season is the strongest indicator the Bulls are a deep team that has bought into Thibodeau's philosophy. The question now is if they'll be able to bounce back against Boston at the United Center Thursday.