Hughes 3-pointer lifts Bulls to 105-100 win
On a day when a governor with one of the lowest approval ratings in political history was arrested and future vice president Joe Biden was in the audience, the Bulls and New York Knicks tried to settle a pair of referendums at the United Center.
First there was the coaching matchup. Both the Bulls and Knicks tried to hire ex-Phoenix boss Mike D'Antoni last May. Ultimately, he took his up-tempo style to New York, while the Bulls turned to a first-time coach in Vinny Del Negro.
The Bulls pulled out a 105-100 victory on Tuesday, so they must have made the correct decision, right?
"I don't get into that. I don't care," Del Negro said with a laugh. "I have so much respect for Mike. His teams are always tough to play against."
At point guard, the Bulls chose not to re-sign Chris Duhon last summer after four seasons in Chicago. Not much controversy in that decision, since they were able to add Derrick Rose after beating the odds to win the draft lottery.
No one in their right mind would trade Rose for Duhon, but the former Duke point guard turned in a strong homecoming performance, finishing with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 9 rebounds.
"It was fun," Duhon said. "I expected to get booed, obviously, but they were pretty kind to me today, so I'm thankful for that."
The difference in this game was a late defensive stand by the Bulls (10-11) and a clutch 3-pointer from Larry Hughes that broke open a tie game with 55.3 seconds remaining.
Once New York (9-12) took a 97-94 lead on Al Harrington's 3-pointer with 4:04 left, the Bulls' defense forced 8 straight missed shots. Ben Gordon tied the score with a corner 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark after missing a pair of 3-pointers on the previous possession. The two teams came up empty on their next five trips before Hughes buried the go-ahead jumper.
An afterthought heading into the season, Hughes has suddenly become one of the Bulls' best clutch shooters. He knocked down a game-winner at the buzzer in Utah on Nov. 24 and is shooting 64 percent from 3-point range (14-for-22) in the last five games.
"I'm never going to turn (a big shot) down," Hughes said. "One of two things, it's either going to go in or it's not. But as long as it's a good look (and) my teammates find me, I'm definitely willing to take the shot."
Asked to explain the late-game defense, Hughes credited the success to "just grinding it out. It takes a little bit of that, a little bit of luck, getting away with some things and being crafty down there to help out. We were able to get some stops."
Power forward Drew Gooden snapped out a brief slump to record 22 points and 16 rebounds. Gordon added 17 points, Hughes and Luol Deng finished with 16, while Rose had 15 points and 7 assists.
Harrington led New York with 28 points and Chicago native Quentin Richardson added 22.
Del Negro started Aaron Gray at center for the second straight game, but used Joakim Noah off the bench for 20 minutes, while Tyrus Thomas did not play at all.
After Hughes' 3-pointer, Duhon couldn't finish a drive to the basket and the Bulls hit 5 free throws down the stretch to seal the outcome.