CHICAGO, IL. -- After thoroughly beating the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, the Chicago Bulls struggled mightily Monday night at the United Center and barely escaped an upset with a narrow 86-81 margin over the Charlotte Bobcats.
The sloppy, ugly win handed the 6-3 Bulls their fifth consecutive victory. The Bobcats, who were aiming for a franchise record road wins, dropped to 5-6 for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Luol Deng led the Bulls with 21 points, including a big 3 that sealed the deal in the final 27.1 seconds of regulation. Deng and Jimmy Butler set the pace early by drilling 11 and 10 points respectively in the opening quarter, helping Chicago capture a 26-21 advantage.
After a spectacular Saturday when he had 20 points to bury the Pacers, Rose had a tame 12 points against the Bobcats, making only four of 13 field goals and coughing up three turnovers.
Held to 14 points in the second quarter, the Bulls trailed 44-40 at the half. But they outscored Charlotte 46-37 the rest of the way.
Jeffery Taylor led the Bobcats with 20 points while Gerald Henderson added 16. Spitfire Kemba Walker made ony 3-of-14 field goals and settled for 11 points. The Bobcats shot just 33 of 91 field goals and 7-of-16 threes.
The Bulls will now embark on a 6-game road sortie dubbed as the annual Circus Trip. First stop is Thursday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver against the Nuggets.
Photo: Luol Deng stuffs two over the Bobcats at the United Center.
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