Luol Deng scored a career-high 40 points and Derrick Rose added 16 and 13 assists as the Chicago Bulls handed the visiting Portland Trail Blazers their first loss of the season, 110-98, on Monday.
Joakim Noah added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who held the Blazers to 0-of-14 shooting from the arc.
Deng, who scored just nine points Saturday and was 7-of-23 from the floor through Chicago’s first two games, got hot right away with 16 points in the first quarter as the Bulls jumped out to a 32-21 lead.
Deng finished 14-of-19 from the floor as he surpassed his previous high of 38, also vs. Portland on March 26, 2007.
Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge scored 33 points. He kept the Blazers in it with 22 in the first half as Brandon Roy struggled from the floor, going into the break with just three points and Chicago leading, 56-47.
Roy picked it up with 11 points in the third quarter, but the Bulls continued to pull away as Deng added 15 more to make it 88-73 heading into the final frame.
Portland cut it to 101-92 with just under four minutes left before Deng hit a free throw and Kyle Korver knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the lead again.
Portland | Chicago | |
LaMarcus Aldridge 33 | Scoring | Luol Deng 40 |
Andre Miller 6 | Assists | Derrick Rose 13 |
Marcus Camby 11 | Rebounds | Joakim Noah 10 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 9 | Free Throws Made | Luol Deng 9 |
Rudy Fernandez 3 | Steals | Ronnie Brewer 1 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 1 | Blocks | Omer Asik 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Portland | 98 | 41.2 | 0-14 | 32-41 | 15 | 35 | 2 | 9 | 10 |
Chicago | 110 | 60.6 | 5-13 | 19-32 | 27 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 15 |