Houston Rockets edge Chicago Bulls 93-89 in NBA thriller

By Luther Jefferson

HOUSTON, TEXAS, United States (TheSportsNEXT) November 22, 2012: Flu had no impact on James Harden who played a central role in a thrilling victory for the Houston Rockets over Chicago Bulls in their NBA 2012-13 game in Houston on Wednesday.

James Harden scored 28 points which also included a late points supply which helped the home side clinch a classy victory over the high-flying visitors.

The Houston Rockets kept saving it for the finishing moments and Chicago Bulls lost it all in the decisive moments as the Rockets scored 14 points against Bulls’ four points in a phase where visitors succumbed to away game pressure and missed 11 consecutive shots.

James Harden, who was available in the center for just over 17 minutes in Houston’s loss to Utah on Monday, played for 42 minutes Wednesday delivering 8-of-14 as well as five steals which made a huge difference in the end of the hosts.

With this victory, the Houston Rockets have bucked a three-game losing run while on the other hand Chicago Bulls delivered their third straight loss as they are 1-3 on a five-game road trip which ended on Friday against Milwaukee Bucks.

Apart from James Harden, Patrick Patterson scored 20 points while Chandler Parsons hit 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to make it a team effort.

On the flip side, Chicago Bulls looked likely to win the away game against Houston Rockets in the final quarter before literally giving it away in the final moments.

Nate Robinson hit 21 points, Luol Deng scored 19 points and Carlos Boozer delivered 15 rebounds for the Chicago Bulls who have lost three in a row for the first time since 2009-10 season when they had gone on to lose 10 straight games.

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Kevin Durant on top of game as Thunder tame Bulls in NBA

By Lindy Rumer

CHICAGO, Illinois, United States (TheSportsNEXT) November 9, 2012: The NBA star Kevin Durant was on top of his game for Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night when they recorded 97-91 victory over Chicago Bulls in their road game of the NBA 2013.

The game’s fate hanged in balance until third quarter where Chicago Bulls were leading by 72-66 but Kevin Durant came on to his own in the final quarter and scored eight of his total 24 points in the game to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

At one stage in the fourth quarter, both teams were tied at 86 points each and it looked all set for an overtime but Kevin Durant looked completely unstoppable as he finished the game with an off-balance jumpers off one foot with only 35.1 seconds in the final buzzer.

The game started with both teams scoring 24 points each in the first quarter but Oklahoma City Thunder did just a point better as they were leading the Chicago Bulls by 48-47 at halfway stage.

The home side gathered themselves in the third quarter and made a huge push which enabled them an advantage of six points at 72-66 at the end of third quarter and it looked as if Chicago Bulls would be able to edge out the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it wasn’t to be the case.

Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka led the OKC Thunder to a massive effort in the final quarter where they outscored the Chicago Bulls by 12 points at 31-19 and won the game with a six-point advantage.

Apart from Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka was also among the high-point-scoring form as he collected 21 points for the visiting Thunder out of which he scored 15 points in the first half. Serge Ibaka also delivered nine rebounds for the Oklahoma City Thunder who have now defeated the Chicago bulls for third time in their last four encounters at Chicago.

Russell Westbrook also proved his worth for the Thunder as he hit 16 points and coupled it with 12 assists.

The home side was led by Luol Deng who scored the game-high 27 points while Richard Hamilton also was in tremendous point-scoring form with total of 20 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah hit nine points, 13 rebounds and a team-high six assists but all of these efforts failed to ensure a home victory for the Chicago Bulls.

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NBA 2013: Chicago Bulls see off Orlando Magic 99-93

By Lindy Rumer

CHICAGO, Illinois (TheSportsNEXT) November 7, 2012: Chicago Bulls recorded their third victory in four games in the NBA 2013 on Tuesday when they defeated Orlando Magic by 99-93.

This was the first defeat in three games for the Orlando Magic this season and they didn’t fall short by much as only six points made the difference in the end.

Luol Deng was the top-performer for the home side as he scored 23 points and eight rebounds while Joakim Noah hit 20 points, nine boards, five blocks, and four assists for the Chicago Bulls who are ranked fourth now in the NBA Eastern Conference.

It is important to mention here that the Orlando Magic had defeated Chicago Bulls in their previous meeting but this time Chicago Bulls’ support staff was also there to come up with the goods as Carloz Boozer and Taj Gibson also provided 12 points for the hosts.

On the other hand, Arron Afflalo delivered a massive performance by 28 points but he lacked the able support from other players as Nikola Vucevic and Glen Davis each supplied 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Orlando Magic.

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