Chicago rallies to 103-92 victory over Philly
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Associated Press - Published: December 1, 2008
PHILADELPHIA — Ben Gordon scored 21 points, Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from an early deficit for a 103-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Derrick Rose, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, contributed 18 points and 10 assists. Reserve Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Bulls (8-9), who won for only the third time in 10 games on the road.
It was the final stop on a seven-game, 12-day road trip which began Nov. 18 in Los Angeles against the Lakers. All three of Chicago's road wins came during this stretch.
Elton Brand had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young added 17 points for the reeling Sixers, who have lost four straight to fall to 7-10. Andre Miller had 15 points and 10 assists, and Willie Green chipped in with 12 points.
Philadelphia scored a season-low 78 points in a 24-point loss at Boston on Friday and has been held below the 100-point mark in seven consecutive games.
The Bulls held a 71-66 lead late in the third before running off 12 straight points to take an 83-66 advantage at the end of the quarter. Rose had six of the 12 points, including a high-flying, one-handed dunk with 32 seconds remaining.
After a 3-pointer by Hughes gave the Bulls a 92-73 lead with 7:21 left, the fans booed and a large throng of them began to vacate the arena. When the game ended, the boos careened down once again.
The Sixers led by as many as 15 points in the first half before Chicago went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 41-40 on a basket by Luol Deng with 4:57 remaining.
Philadelphia finished the half strong and held what would wind up being a short-lived 55-52 lead.
Trail Blazers 96, Pistons 85
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and Greg Oden had a career-high 13 rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 96-85 Sunday.
Brandon Roy scored 19 points and Oden finished with 10 for Portland, which has won four straight. The Pistons fell to just 6-6 since Allen Iverson joined the team.
Richard Hamilton had 18 for Detroit, which is 0-4 on Sundays and 10-2 during the rest of the week.
As they have done all season on Sundays, the Pistons got off to a terrible start. Detroit's starters were a combined 1-for-9 in the first quarter, and fell behind by 14 at one point.
Later, Detroit's reserves went on a 10-0 run that helped the Pistons get to 45-42 before Portland scored the final five points of the half. Aldridge had 17 points in the half, 11 more than any Piston.
Portland threatened to pull away throughout the third, but Detroit was able to keep itself in the game. Hamilton's jumper at the quarter buzzer cut the lead to 70-64.
Amir Johnson's put-back tied the game with 9:04 left, and Arron Afflalo put them ahead with two free throws on Detroit's next possession. Steve Blake, though, answered with a 3-pointer, and Roy's three-point play moved Portland up 85-80 with 5:31 left.
Roy and Nicolas Batum hit jumpers on the next two possessions, giving Portland a nine-point edge, and the Pistons never seriously threatened again.
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