Bulls come back from 16 down to beat Kings

Dragging their luggage to Sacramento after a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer in Denver, the Bulls had every reason to succumb to fatigue. They played their fourth game in five nights, at the end of a seven-game, 13-day road trip.

Fortunately for the road kings, Derrick Rose recovered from a stiff neck and suited up against the Kings. He unloaded 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the Bulls to another comeback win, 96-85 over Sacramento late Saturday night.

The victory gave the Bulls their first winning record (4-3) on the annual circus road trip since 1997-98.

The Bulls (9-6) trailed by 16 points late in the first half and were still down 71-57 with 3:27 remaining in the third when they decided it was sing-song time, to quote one of those “Fast Don't Lie” shoe commercials starring Rose.

First, they finished the third quarter on a 12-5 run, then added the first 9 points of the fourth to take a 78-76 lead on Rose's free throws with 9:05 remaining. The Kings managed to tie the score at 83-83, but that's when the Bulls stepped on the throttle.

Rose hit a one-handed runner in the lane to put the visitors up for good with 5:03 left. The basket ignited an 11-0 run that took all suspense from the game. Center Joakim Noah gave credit to coach Tom Thibodeau.

“We definitely have the identity of our coach,” Noah said after the game. “I think he is probably the hungriest guy I've ever been around in terms of coaching. Ever since the summer, the guy is in the gym all day. ... He is hungry, he wants to win so bad.”

Sacramento had lost nine of its last 10 coming in, but is usually competitive at home. The worst of the Kings' six home losses this season was by 12 points. Against the Bulls, Sacramento scored just 9 points in the fourth quarter.

Deng added 22 points, while Noah finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.

“Derrick is great. I think he's the best point guard in the league right now,” Deng said. “He can carry us a lot. He makes all of us better players.”

Now that the Bulls are finally headed home, they can look forward to the return of Carlos Boozer. The team's top free-agent acquisition has been out since the first week of training camp with a broken right hand, but plans to start practicing on Monday.

It's not clear when Boozer might make his debut, but he has been able to stay in shape, since the injury was to his hand. So it's probably just a matter of when his hand is ready to absorb punishment.

The Bulls have more tough games coming up. They'll face Orlando at home on Wednesday, then visit Boston on Friday.

Heading into the Sacramento game, the Bulls' first 14 opponents had a combined winning percentage of .570, giving them the toughest schedule in the league so far.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

<p>Rose blooms again: After missing Friday's loss at Denver with a stiff neck, Derrick Rose returned to action and produced 30 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds against Sacramento. Rose almost broke Tyreke Evans' legs on a fourth-quarter change of direction and driving layin.</p>

<p>Defense stiffens: As has been their tendency on this trip, the Bulls fell into an early deficit, this time 16 points, then turned up the defense. The Kings scored 57 points in the first half, 28 in the second, with just 9 in the fourth quarter.</p>

<p>Circus finally ends: After 13 days of travel, the Bulls will return home with their first winning record (4-3) on the annual circus road trip since the 1997-98 season. Better yet, Carlos Boozer plans to practice Monday after recovering from a broken right hand.</p>