Bulls fall to Blazers in two overtimes
Jarrett Jack drove for a go-ahead basket and converted a three-point play with 19 seconds left in the second overtime Thursday night and the Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the Bulls 115-109 at the United Center for their 15th win in 16 games.
Brandon Roy had 25 points and Travis Outlaw 21 for Portland, now 2-0 since its 13-game winning streak was ended on Monday by Utah.
Ben Gordon scored 32 points to lead the Bulls and veteran Joe Smith added a season-high 31 as Chicago dropped to 3-2 since Jim Boylan was appointed interim coach after the firing of Scott Skiles.
With the game tied in the second overtime, Gordon lost the ball as he was dribbling to set up a shot, Jack picked it up after it was tipped and drove for a go-ahead layup and was fouled. His free throw put the Trail Blazers up 111-108.
Smith just missed an attempt from in front of the basket, was fouled on the play and hit the first free throw but missed the second with 14 seconds to go.
Portland rebounded and James Jones sealed the exhausting victory by making four free throws down the stretch.
Gordon's jumper with 1:01 left had given the Bulls a two-point lead in the second overtime, but Kirk Hinrich fouled Roy, landing on him after he faked a shot with 45 seconds remaining.
Roy made the first and then went to the bench to have a small cut under his right eye treated. He returned to the line and rolled in the second for another tie.
Luol Deng, the Bulls' second-leading scorer at 18.5 points per game, left in the second quarter with tightness in his left Achilles' and managed only two points. He played just 13 minutes and 55 seconds, all in the first half.
It was the fourth game in five nights for both teams, and the Bulls couldn't hold a 14-point lead they built in the third quarter.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 14 points and added 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers. Ben Wallace chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls.
Aldridge's basket gave Portland a 106-104 lead in the second extra period but Wallace, a 49 percent free-throw shooter entering the game, made two straight from the line and was 4-for-4 in the two overtimes.
Outlaw's jumper with 18 seconds to go in the first overtime put Portland up 102-100 but Smith's two free throws tied it.
After a timeout with five seconds to go, Jack missed a wide-open jumper and the game headed to a second overtime.
Aldridge's 20-foot jumper gave the Trail Blazers a 100-98 lead with 1:06 to go in the first overtime, but Smith backed in and hit a short basket for yet another tie.
In regulation, Gordon hit a game-tying jumper with 1:05 left after Smith got an offensive rebound from a missed free throw by Wallace.
Wallace blocked Roy's layup attempt with 42 seconds left but after Gordon misfired, the Trail Blazers won a scrap for the rebound and took a timeout with 21.1 seconds remaining.
Roy dribbled the clock down and then missed a jumper from the left side just before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Averaging 29 points in the four games since Boylan asked him to drop out of the starting lineup and be the sixth man, Gordon scored 14 in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting.
He finished 15-for-27 from the field.
Gordon's 3-pointer and late jumper helped the Bulls take a 48-41 halftime lead. And when Chicago reeled off the first seven points of the third quarter, the lead was up to 55-41.
The Trail Blazers shot only 37 percent in the first two quarters and Aldridge was scoreless at the half. Aldridge had a career-high 36 points two games ago in the loss to the Jazz.
Notes: The Bulls drafted Aldridge with the second pick in the 2006 draft and then traded his rights to the Trail Blazers for the rights to Tyrus Thomas - who was picked fourth overall - and Viktor Khryapa. ... Each team shot 23 free throws. The Bulls were only 4-for-24 on 3-pointers.