Rose rises to the occasion for the Bulls

Derrick Rose said before Monday night's game that his sprained left wrist is "not quite 100 percent but is getting there."

One has to wonder about the kind of damage Rose might do to an opposing team's defense once he is back at full strength because he sure seems just fine while on the mend.

The Bulls guard poured in a game-high 27 points with a spirited effort to lead the way to a 98-88 victory over the Houston Rockets at the United Center.

They kept pace with Toronto, which hold the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors defeated Minnesota 106-100 to remain 21/2 games in front of the Bulls.

"We are a team just trying to find a way," said Rose, who also had 8 assists and 7 rebounds. "I think we have a shot at the playoffs."

The Bulls (33-37) showed a lot of heart. Coach Vinny Del Nelgro was ejected after arguing an offensive foul on Taj Gibson with 58.5 seconds left in the third quarter.

The second half may have been one of the Bulls' best from a defensive perspective as they held the Rockets to 24 percent shooting (11-for-46). Del Negro said defense was the key.

"It is about making stops," said Del Negro, who singled out the defensive efforts of Rose and Hinrich. "We held them to a good percentage. Our intensity on defense was better in the second half. We made plays when we had to."

"It was a strong defensive effort," Hinrich added. "We can't afford to get complacent."

In addition to Rose and Hinrich (17 points, including 4-of-4 on 3-pointers), guard Flip Murray came off the bench to score 18 points. He made a pair of long jumpers during a decisive third-quarter run.

Houston (36-33) was paced by forward Luis Scola and guard Kevin Martin, who scored 22 and 19 points, respectively.

While the Rockets led 53-48 at halftime, the Bulls pulled ahead in the third quarter with a number of runs, including 10 straight points capped by a Rose 3-pointer that made it 72-59.

"(Rose) is just a great player," Rockets guard Lyle Lowry said. "He really hurt us tonight and made tough shots, and his pull-ups, especially down the stretch, hurt us."

Another thing that undoubtedly gave the Bulls a lift was Del Negro's ejection with 58.5 seconds left in the third quarter after a charge was called on Taj Gibson. This followed a blocking foul called on Rose, who vigorously protested the whistle.

Rose scored 10 points in fourth quarter to help keep the Rockets at bay.

Another positive for the Bulls was the play of center Joakim Noah, who entered the game with 7:45 to play before halftime. This was his second game back since Feb. 26 because of lingering plantar fasciitis.

His hustle underneath led to a Rose basket as he tipped a missed shot out to Rose on the right wing. Rose sank the 17-foot jumper.

He got into the scoring action a few minutes later with a nice left-handed jump hook in the lame and then came up with a slam drunk to tie the score at 44-44. The crowd of 19,834 roared with approval. Noah saw nearly 12 minutes of court action and expects to see more as his conditioning improves.

Brad Miller and Gibson ripped down 12 rebounds apiece for the Bulls.

<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Bulls 98, Rockets 88</b></p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">3 is the magic number: The Bulls shot 50 percent from beyond the 3-point line compared to 28 percent for the Rockets. Guard Kirk Hinrich led the way with a 4-for-4 shooting effort. Derrick Rose sank a pair of treys as well. "You have to take what the defense gives you," Rose said.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">A few more minutes, please: Center Joakim Noah saw nearly 12 minutes of action, up from the 9:22 he played in the win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. His presence on the court is felt almost immediately. "I think they are going to keep adding to my minutes," he said. "I'm not pushing too much. I need to get my conditioning right, but it feels good to be out there."</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Putting the clamps on: The Bulls held the Rockets to an opponent's season-low 33.8 percent from the field (30-for-89), including 24 percent (11-for-46) in the second half .</p>