Bulls hope late rally provides a boost into break

There may have been some hangover at the Berto Center on Wednesday morning, on the heels of the Johnny "Red" Kerr halftime tribute and ensuing 15-point, fourth-quarter comeback against the Detroit Pistons.

But that had nothing to do with Derrick Rose's headache. The Bulls rookie took a shoulder to the face while trying to run past an Antonio McDyess screen in the waning seconds of the 107-102 victory.

Rose did not practice but insisted he's already feeling fine and will play tonight when the Bulls host the Miami Heat in their final game before the all-star break.

"I could have practiced today, but (trainer) Fred (Tedeschi) told me to sit out," Rose said. "(At the time), my neck cramped up, my head was hurting. I didn't know what was going on."

Neither Rose nor coach Vinny Del Negro thought there was anything unsportsmanlike about McDyess' screen.

"It's a basketball play," Rose said. "He was just trying to get his teammate open. I probably would do the same thing."

Added Del Negro: "At the end of the game, you can get away with a little bit more. I'll take a closer look at it. It's kind of a concern when you've got a headache like that and you're dizzy a little bit after the game. So more precaution (as the reason for skipping practice)."

Being able to salvage a victory on Red Kerr night and finishing the game on a 17-2 run could be a boost for the Bulls. They've played much better lately but lost several close games.

If the Bulls had been able to reverse overtime losses at Minnesota and Dallas - they led late in the fourth quarter of both contests - the win over Detroit would have been their seventh in the last eight games.

Forward Luol Deng was asked if the recent resurgence reminds him of the 2004-05 team, which started 0-9 before slowly turning things around and finishing with 47 wins.

"I think we're getting there," Deng said. "I can't say we're there yet. But I think we're capable of getting there. It's just having consistency in the effort every night. I think that's what we did that season.

"We kind of knew there was something good happening (during the past three weeks), because we were playing hard. I think we're starting to mature as a team."

The Bulls also found a new formula for the winning shot.

Rose has had more misses than hits in late-game situations. With the Bulls trailing by 1, he drove into the lane and had a layup blocked by Detroit's Rasheed Wallace.

After catching the rebound under the basket, Rose found Ben Gordon open in the corner. Gordon drained a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Rodney Stuckey, and the 4-point play sent the Bulls ahead 105-102 with 16.7 seconds left.

Rose scored 7 points in the final 3:27, but it's reasonable to think he will get better at finding open teammates in late-game situations as defenses collapse around him.

"Most of the sets are like that," Del Negro said. "The problem is a lot of times when Derrick penetrates, the (defenders) don't leave Ben. You've got to convert those plays. We've missed our share, for whatever reason, and that's just part of the game."

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