Rose Scores Big To Give Bulls Win, NBA Roundup

The Chicago Bulls let the lead slip away. Derrick Rose wouldn't let the game get away, too. Rose came up big down the stretch to score 29 points, and Jimmy Butler added 26 to lead the Bulls to a 104-98 victory over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

Whether he can consistently play like a superstar still remains in question. But Rose sure looked like his old MVP self, scoring 10 points over the final 3½ minutes to lift the Bulls after they blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

"For him to have a game like this, I know this is a huge confidence booster," coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Oklahoma City tied it with just over five minutes left in the game. But Rose's performance in the closing minutes helped offset Durant's 33 points and lifted the Bulls after they got blown out at Charlotte two nights earlier.

Chicago was clinging to a 98-96 lead when Rose buried consecutive jumpers to make it a six-point game with just over a minute remaining.

After Durant hit a jumper, Pau Gasol nailed a sweeping hook with 38.4 seconds left, sealing the win for the Bulls.

Rose, still wearing a face mask after missing almost the entire preseason because of a fractured left orbital, found his rhythm after three straight single-digit scoring games. Butler set a career-high with 21 first-half points and hit four 3-pointers in the game, and the Bulls got back to winning after getting squashed by Charlotte 130-105 on Tuesday night.

Thursday, November 5 Scoreboard

Chicago 104, Oklahoma City 98

Miami 96, Minnesota 84

Charlotte 108, Dallas 94

Utah 96, Denver 84

Portland 115, Memphis 96

Friday, November 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Washington at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles at  Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at  Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Miami at  Indiana, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at  New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Detroit at  Phoenix, 8:30 p.m.

Denver at  Golden State, 9:30 p.m.

Houston at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.