Rose plays through pain to lead Bulls past Magic

That throbbing pain in Derrick Rose's gut was from his two stomach ulcers, not the memory of a 30-point loss to Orlando back on Dec. 1.

Without question, though, the Bulls were anxious for a better performance against the Magic. So Rose took the floor and wasn't quite his usual self, but he was good enough to help lead the Bulls to a solid 99-90 victory over Orlando at the United Center.

Rose had done hardly any basketball activities since Monday's game against Milwaukee and was in pain any time he tried to eat or drink.

“Every time I swallow, it hurts,” Rose said after the game. “It's tough, but nobody cares about that when you're out there. I'll probably pass out or something, but I was going to play in this game.”

No matter how painful, the Bulls (32-14) kept on rolling, improving to 9-1 at home this month. They remain tied for second place in the East with Miami and are 3 games ahead of fourth-place Orlando in the loss column.

“We felt like they beat us up pretty good the last time,” said forward Luol Deng, who led the Bulls with 26 points. “Boston, Orlando, Miami — when we go out and beat those teams, I think we send a message out there that we've got a good team.”

The Bulls were able to put a couple of popular strategies to the test on Friday. One was to stay home on the Magic's 3-point shooters instead of collapsing defenders onto center Dwight Howard.

Howard finished with 40 points and 15 rebounds, but Orlando's second-leading scorer was Gilbert Arenas with 11 points.

The Magic (30-17) hit just 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range against the Bulls. Two nights earlier in Indiana, Orlando was 16-for-34 from long range. The Magic had at least 11 baskets from behind the arc in seven of its last 10 games.

“At the end of the day, the 3s are more dangerous than the 2,” Carlos Boozer said. “You don't want to give anybody 40 points. Obviously, he's the best center in the NBA. You play him 1-on-1, he's going to get some buckets. Tonight he was also hitting his free throws (12-for-16). But I was proud of us for running them off the 3-point line.”

The other plan was to attack Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu. Whether this part was by design, no one would say, but the Bulls waited until the start of the third quarter to take advantage of this matchup.

Deng had 2 shots and 2 points in the first half. Starting on the first possession of the third quarter, the Bulls relied on Deng relentlessly.

In the second half, Deng hit 9 of 14 shots and outscored Turkoglu 24-1.

“In the third quarter, I just had really good looks and started feeling it and didn't hesitate,” Deng said.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau offered strong praise for Deng, who leads the Bulls in minutes played this season.

“In my opinion, he's had an all-star type season,” Thibodeau said. “He's done everything for our team. He's guarded multiple positions. He's provided scoring, rebounding, playmaking. I know his teammates and his coaches certainly appreciate all he does for his team. I don't know where we'd be without him.”

The Bulls trailed 51-46 at halftime, then opened the third quarter with a 20-5 run, taking the lead for good when Deng, Rose and Deng again knocked down 3-pointers on three straight possessions.

The closest Orlando would get was 93-90 with 1:28 after a steal led to a fast-break lay in by Arenas. The Bulls went right to Deng, who scored on a baseline drive, and Rose finished it off with 4 free throws.

Orlando lost point guard Jameer Nelson in the first quarter with a knee injury, forcing ex-Bull Chris Duhon into duty.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

Bulls 99, Magic 90

<B>Gutting it out:</B> After being diagnosed with two stomach ulcers this week, Derrick Rose found the energy to play 38 minutes. He didn't shoot it well (6-for-21) but produced 22 points and 12 assists to help pace the win.

<B>Dwight domination: </B>Magic center Dwight Howard scored 40 points, but the Bulls were determined not to let Orlando get hot from 3-point range. The visitors went 5-for-21 from behind the arc after collecting at least 11 3-pointers in seven of the last 10 contests.

<B>Packing some wisdom: </B>Orlando guard Gilbert Arenas after the game: “You don't want to be playing your best right now. Green Bay didn't play their best until the end of the season.”