Deng, Bulls rally to beat Bucks 83-81

By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO — Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls envisioned nights
like this. If he keeps it up, he just might become a star they
thought he would be.

Limited by injuries in recent seasons, Deng scored 24 points
while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls
rallied from 18 down to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 83-81 on
Tuesday night.

“I’m happy that I’m healthy,” Deng said. “Happy to be out there
playing. … I missed playing. I’m happy I’m out there with my
teammates and not out on the side watching them.”

Even better when he’s leading them to a dramatic win.

The Bucks had a chance to win it after Joakim Noah missed two
free throws, but Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer, the ball
landing out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left. Just like that, the
Bulls were winners. Hard to believe considering how poorly they
played in a first half that Brad Miller labeled “humiliating.”

Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as
the Bulls rebounded from back-to-back losses with a wild win.
His dunk on a backdoor cut bumped the Bulls’ lead to 82-75 with
1:28 left, but he also committed a costly turnover in the final
minute, when his bad pass led to a short jumper by Brandon
Jennings that made it 82-81 with 22 seconds left.

Miller then hit the second free throw after missing the first,
and Rose deflected a shot by Jennings. Noah controlled the ball
and immediately got fouled, but he missed both free throws with
13.7 seconds left. That kept the Bucks within two, but they
couldn’t capitalize.

Jennings took the inbounds, passed off to the scoreless
Ilyasova, who forced a shot from the right of the top of the
key.

“He’s got to put the ball down with his right hand,” coach Scott
Skiles said. “We’ve got a guy in the corner and we’ve go the
side cleared out to put it down, go draw and kick. That’s not
the shot we want to take right there. It looked like he was
determined to shoot a 3.”

It was a bitter finish for the Bucks, who were without the
injured Michael Redd.

He expects to miss about two weeks after straining a tendon in
his left knee during Saturday’s home opener against Detroit.

Even with their star sidelined, the Bucks were in position to
pull this one out.

Jennings outplayed Rose, who missed most of the preseason with
an ankle injury, for most of the night and finished with 25
points, while Andrew Bogut added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

“(Rose) looked good to me tonight, especially in the second half
down the stretch,” Jennings said.

Milwaukee was leading 56-38 after Jennings buried a 3-pointer
midway through the third, but the Bulls closed out the quarter
with an 18-4 run that pulled them within four with him on the
bench for much of it. They reeled off 12 in a row after
Jennings’ shot, with John Salmons’ 3-pointer making it 56-50
with just over 3 minutes left. And Deng, coming off a 26-point
game against Miami, hit from beyond the arc at the buzzer to
make it 60-56.

The Bulls finally tied it at 66 with 8:15 left in the game,
after Deng converted a three-point play and Miller buried
another 3. Jannero Pargo, playing through back stiffness, gave
them their first lead – 71-68 – with a 3-pointer midway through
the fourth, bringing a roar from a crowd that had witnessed a
brutal effort through the first two-and-a-half quarters.

How bad was it?

The Bulls shot 27 percent in the first half, committed 12 of
their 19 turnovers and trailed by as much as 18 before going
into the locker room down 43-29.

“I think everybody was a little bit embarrassed because of the
way we performed in the first half,” Noah said.

One Bull who had no reason to be embarrassed was Deng, who
looked like a budding star three years ago. Then, he had trouble
staying healthy, particularly last season when he missed the
final 22 regular-season games and the playoffs with a stress
fracture in his right tibia.

“He owes me a meal or something,” Miller joked. “I was blocking
out rebounders so he could go get about five rebounds. He’s glad
I’m an old guy who doesn’t really need the stats.”

NOTES: Redd accompanied the Bucks to Chicago for Tuesday’s game
to be examined by Bulls physician Dr. Brian Cole, who operated
on him last March. … Chicago attempted 31 free throws,
compared to just 10 for the Bucks. … Bulls F Tyrus Thomas
stayed home with flu-like symptoms.

The best newsletter on the web