Rose returns in Bulls' win

Derrick Rose scored 23 points in his return from back pain, and the Chicago Bulls beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday.

Rose looked sharp after missing the previous five games, and the Bulls played more like championship contenders after a brutal loss to New Jersey two days earlier. They led by 18 through the first quarter and were ahead 55-37 at halftime, but found themselves hanging on in the end after a big push by Atlanta.

The Bulls were clinging to an 85-79 lead after a late 3-pointer by Jannero Pargo before Luol Deng nailed a 3 of his own to make it a nine-point game. Rose then buried a turnaround jumper to make it 90-79 with 2:10 remaining and Chicago prevailed, sending Atlanta to its seventh loss in 10 games.

Rose also had six assists and five rebounds. Carlos Boozer added 16 points, Ronnie Brewer had 13, and Deng and John Lucas 10 apiece. Joakim Noah chipped in with 16 rebounds.

"Having (Rose) back just opens up everything," Noah said. "He was very aggressive tonight. When he's aggressive like that, it opens up everything for everybody, and it gives us a lot of confidence."

Rose did not make himself available for comment afterward. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose's conditioning is "not where it usually is," but the explosiveness was there.

"Overall, I was very pleased," he said. "Derrick said he felt really good out there."

Pargo provided a big spark off the bench for Atlanta with a season-high 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Josh Smith added 17 points and 12 rebounds, but the Hawks came up short again.

They showed little life in the early going after being blown out by Portland on Sunday and paid for it in the end. They were without Marvin Williams, who missed the game because of a death in the family, but it's hard to believe he would have made that big a difference with the way the Bulls played early on.

Coming off one of their ugliest performances in two seasons under Thibodeau, they quickly rediscovered their form while taking control.

Rose was his usual explosive self, whether he was freezing Jeff Teague with a wicked crossover or burying jumpers. He scored nine in the first quarter as the Bulls grabbed a 35-17 lead.

ATLANTA (79) — J.Johnson 5-11 2-2 12, Smith 7-21 3-5 17, Pachulia 2-5 4-8 8, Teague 2-3 0-0 6, Green 3-6 0-0 6, Hinrich 2-8 0-2 5, Pargo 7-12 0-0 19, Radmanovic 0-5 0-0 0, McGrady 2-3 1-4 6, I.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Dampier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-74 10-21 79.

CHICAGO (90) — Deng 4-15 0-0 10, Boozer 7-13 2-2 16, Noah 2-5 1-2 5, Rose 8-18 5-9 23, Brewer 4-9 4-4 13, Gibson 3-9 0-0 6, James 3-7 0-0 7, Korver 0-4 0-0 0, Asik 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas 3-8 2-2 10. Totals 34-88 14-19 90.

3-Point Goals—Atlanta 9-25 (Pargo 5-8, Teague 2-2, McGrady 1-1, Hinrich 1-4, Smith 0-1, Green 0-2, J.Johnson 0-3, Radmanovic 0-4), Chicago 8-20 (Lucas 2-3, Rose 2-4, Deng 2-6, James 1-1, Brewer 1-2, Korver 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Atlanta 51 (Smith 12), Chicago 63 (Noah 16). Assists—Atlanta 19 (Smith 5), Chicago 18 (Rose 6). Total Fouls—Atlanta 17, Chicago 16. Technicals—Atlanta defensive three second. A—22,033 (20,917).

NETS 100, KNICKS 92: Linsanity ran into reality: All-Star Deron Williams wasn't getting embarrassed by the Harvard guy again.

Williams scored a season-high 38 points, outplaying Jeremy Lin and leading New Jersey to a victory over New York.

Lin began his remarkable run against the Nets about two weeks ago, but Williams and the Nets were ready for him this time.

Lin finished with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but Williams outscored him 36-11 through three quarters, when the Nets led by 18. Lin shot only 7 of 18 and the Knicks lost for the second time in 10 games since his emergence against the Nets on Feb. 4.

Carmelo Anthony, clearly rusty in his return from a seven-game absence with a strained right groin, shot 4 of 11 and scored 11 points.

NEW JERSEY (100) — Stevenson 4-8 0-0 11, Humphries 5-14 4-7 14, She.Williams 1-4 0-2 2, D.Williams 10-22 10-12 38, Brooks 7-15 2-2 18, Morrow 2-8 4-4 9, Petro 0-3 0-0 0, Gaines 3-8 1-2 8, Emmett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-82 21-29 100.

NEW YORK (92) — Anthony 4-11 3-6 11, Stoudemire 7-17 3-3 17, Chandler 4-5 6-6 14, Lin 7-18 5-6 21, Fields 5-10 0-1 10, Jeffries 1-4 2-4 4, Novak 3-10 0-0 8, Smith 2-8 0-0 4, Davis 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 34-85 19-26 92.

3-Point Goals—New Jersey 15-31 (D.Williams 8-14, Stevenson 3-7, Brooks 2-5, Gaines 1-1, Morrow 1-4), New York 5-21 (Lin 2-4, Novak 2-8, Davis 1-1, Stoudemire 0-1, Fields 0-2, Smith 0-5). Fouled Out—D.Williams, Lin. Rebounds—New Jersey 62 (Humphries 14), New York 54 (Fields 11). Assists—New Jersey 19 (D.Williams 6), New York 23 (Lin 9). Total Fouls—New Jersey 25, New York 25. Technicals—New Jersey defensive three second, Anthony, Chandler, New York defensive three second. A—19,763 (19,763).

ROCKETS 97, GRIZZLIES 93: Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Kevin Martin added 22 and Courtney Lee hit four key free throws down the stretch as Houston held off Memphis.

MEMPHIS (93) — Gay 9-22 5-5 23, Speights 6-8 0-0 12, Gasol 3-8 5-6 11, Conley 7-13 0-0 16, Allen 5-11 0-1 10, Mayo 3-12 0-2 6, Cunningham 2-2 2-2 6, Pargo 0-0 0-0 0, Pondexter 3-3 2-2 9. Totals 38-79 14-18 93.

HOUSTON (97) — Parsons 4-11 0-0 9, Scola 5-7 0-0 10, Dalembert 4-4 1-2 9, Lowry 7-17 7-7 24, Martin 8-13 4-6 22, Lee 1-6 6-6 9, Patterson 4-10 0-0 8, Dragic 2-6 2-4 6, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-74 20-25 97.

3-Point Goals—Memphis 3-13 (Conley 2-4, Pondexter 1-1, Gay 0-2, Mayo 0-6), Houston 7-22 (Lowry 3-7, Martin 2-3, Parsons 1-4, Lee 1-5, Patterson 0-1, Dragic 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Memphis 45 (Gay, Gasol, Speights 7), Houston 44 (Patterson 9). Assists—Memphis 17 (Gasol 5), Houston 21 (Lowry 9). Total Fouls—Memphis 24, Houston 20. Technicals—Memphis defensive three second, Houston defensive three second. A—12,525 (18,043).

MAVERICKS 89, CELTICS 73: Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and moved into the top 20 on the NBA career scoring list and Dallas beat short-handed and struggling Boston.

BOSTON (73) — Pierce 7-13 5-7 20, Wilcox 1-3 0-0 2, O'Neal 0-1 0-0 0, Bradley 6-11 0-0 12, Allen 6-15 2-2 15, Stiemsma 0-2 1-2 1, Pietrus 2-8 0-0 6, Dooling 1-3 0-0 3, Johnson 4-7 0-0 8, Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Pavlovic 0-4 0-0 0, Moore 2-5 0-0 6. Totals 29-74 8-11 73.

DALLAS (89) — Marion 5-10 1-2 11, Nowitzki 10-24 5-5 26, Haywood 2-5 1-2 5, Kidd 2-5 0-0 6, Carter 2-7 0-0 4, Terry 6-11 0-0 16, Jones 3-8 1-1 7, Mahinmi 0-1 1-2 1, Odom 2-8 0-0 4, Wright 4-7 1-2 9, Cardinal 0-1 0-0 0, Yi 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 36-89 10-14 89.

3-Point Goals—Boston 7-24 (Moore 2-4, Pietrus 2-6, Dooling 1-2, Pierce 1-3, Allen 1-5, Pavlovic 0-4), Dallas 7-25 (Terry 4-7, Kidd 2-5, Nowitzki 1-3, Yi 0-1, Cardinal 0-1, Carter 0-3, Odom 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Boston 48 (Pietrus 12), Dallas 57 (Nowitzki 16). Assists—Boston 17 (Pietrus 4), Dallas 26 (Kidd 8). Total Fouls—Boston 18, Dallas 15. A—20,364 (19,200).

MAGIC 93, BUCKS 90: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 16 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 15 points and Orlando beat Milwaukee.

ORLANDO (93) — Turkoglu 5-10 0-0 13, Anderson 3-7 1-2 9, Howard 9-20 10-14 28, Nelson 6-11 2-2 15, Redick 4-9 1-1 11, Davis 5-9 2-2 12, Duhon 0-2 0-0 0, Q.Richardson 0-2 0-0 0, Wafer 1-6 0-0 2, Liggins 0-0 3-4 3. Totals 33-76 19-25 93.

MILWAUKEE (90) — Delfino 3-12 0-0 8, Ilyasova 6-15 3-3 15, Leuer 5-11 0-1 10, Jennings 9-19 3-3 22, Livingston 1-7 2-2 4, Sanders 6-12 1-1 13, Dunleavy 7-13 2-3 18, Mbah a Moute 0-2 0-0 0, Udrih 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-91 11-13 90.

3-Point Goals—Orlando 8-22 (Turkoglu 3-4, Anderson 2-4, Redick 2-5, Nelson 1-4, Q.Richardson 0-1, Howard 0-1, Davis 0-1, Wafer 0-2), Milwaukee 5-22 (Dunleavy 2-4, Delfino 2-7, Jennings 1-6, Leuer 0-1, Ilyasova 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Orlando 58 (Howard 16), Milwaukee 47 (Ilyasova 15). Assists—Orlando 18 (Nelson 5), Milwaukee 17 (Delfino 8). Total Fouls—Orlando 18, Milwaukee 19. Technicals—Milwaukee defensive three second. A—13,143 (18,717).

THUNDER 101, HORNETS 93: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and Oklahoma City beat New Orleans for its 10th straight home win.

NEW ORLEANS (93) — Ayon 2-5 0-0 4, Ariza 2-7 3-4 7, Kaman 4-17 4-4 12, Vasquez 5-9 3-3 15, Belinelli 4-8 0-0 10, Jack 6-15 4-6 18, Thomas 2-7 1-1 5, Aminu 6-10 1-1 14, Henry 1-6 4-4 6, Jones 1-7 0-0 2. Totals 33-91 20-23 93.

OKLAHOMA CITY (101) — Durant 10-19 8-9 31, Ibaka 4-9 1-1 9, Perkins 2-3 1-2 5, Westbrook 10-20 9-10 31, Cook 3-13 0-0 7, Ivey 2-6 0-0 6, Mohammed 1-2 0-0 2, Aldrich 2-3 0-0 4, Jackson 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 36-80 21-24 101.

3-Point Goals—New Orleans 7-14 (Belinelli 2-2, Vasquez 2-3, Jack 2-4, Aminu 1-3, Ayon 0-1, Ariza 0-1), Oklahoma City 8-26 (Durant 3-7, Westbrook 2-3, Ivey 2-6, Cook 1-9, Jackson 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New Orleans 56 (Kaman, Thomas 8), Oklahoma City 52 (Ibaka, Perkins 13). Assists—New Orleans 17 (Ariza, Jack 5), Oklahoma City 15 (Durant, Jackson, Westbrook 4). Total Fouls—New Orleans 17, Oklahoma City 19. Technicals—New Orleans defensive three second, Perkins. A—18,203 (18,203).