Rose drops 30 on Magic, gives Bulls 4th-straight win

Less than two weeks after playing their coach nearly to unemployment, the Bulls have their first four-game winning streak of the season.

Using a smothering defense on Dwight Howard and taking advantage of their own unique brand of athleticism, the Bulls celebrated the start of the new year with one of their most impressive victories of the season Saturday night, a 101-93 victory over the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic.

The Bulls led the entire second half to record arguably their second most significant win, with only an early-season victory at Cleveland matching Saturday's outcome.

Derrick Rose had 30 points, making 11 of 23 field-goal attempts, while John Salmons had 15 points off the bench and Luol Deng just missed a double-double with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

The Bulls raised their overall record to 14-17 and moved to within one-half game of Toronto for the sixth spot in overall Eastern Conference standings.

"We can compete with some of the best teams in the NBA," Rose said. "Don't count us out."

"Beating Orlando, one of the best teams in the East, is a good confidence thing for our team," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, whose job security may have benefited from the winning streak as much as the team's confidence.

Using center Brad Miller and a host of guards and forwards, the Bulls limited Howard to 9 points and allowed him to take only 7 shots. He made 3.

The Magic (24-9) stayed in the game only because forward Matt Barnes made five of six 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 23 points.

Howard played with foul trouble much of the game, and rarely had only one player defending him when he had the ball.

"You've got to make him work, try to wear him down," Miller said. "You've got to do something. I can't jump an eighth as high as he can, so you have to use tricks on him."

After trailing by as much as 8 points in the second quarter, the Bulls outscored the Magic 15-3 in the final five minutes of the half, then scored 11 of the first 14 points in the third quarter to build a 63-50 lead.

Neither team could hit a basket for most of the final quarter, and the Bulls had a 90-75 lead with six minutes left before Orlando finally started to find the mark.

The Magic pulled to within 3 points with 27 seconds left before Rose made a pair of free throws. The Magic missed its final 3 shots.

The second half belonged to Rose, who had 20 points in the final two quarters and was going to the basket more than ever before.

"I'm just trying to attack," he said. "I will do anything to help our team win. They were giving me shots and I was taking them. They were midrange shots. If somebody has a shot, they should take them. That's what I was doing."

Almost every member of the Bulls contributed something. Taj Gibson had 12 rebounds, 7 offensive, while Kirk Hinrich played 32 minutes with only 1 turnover. Miller and Tyrus Thomas each had 6 points off the bench, and Miller had 8 rebounds.

Of particular notice was the play of Deng, who has played the last few games with a broken finger. On three plays in the fourth quarter, Deng tipped missed Bulls shots out to the guards, using his athleticism to outjump Magic players trying to take advantage of the Bulls' late shooting woes.

"I don't think Luol is getting enough credit," Del Negro said. "He is gutting it out for us."

The Bulls go for five in a row Monday at home against Oklahoma City.

"When things start to go your way, it helps build confidence and it just seems that more good things happen," Miller said. "We are starting to play more together."