advertisement

Deng gets in the flow, scores career-high 40 in win

Bulls forward James Johnson champion kickboxer turned master motivator.

Well, that's probably a stretch. But two days after Johnson finished the fourth quarter at small forward in a comeback win over Detroit, Luol Deng made a strong play to stay on the court full time.

Deng produced a career-high 40 points, hitting 14 of 19 shots from the field, and led the Bulls to a fairly routine 110-98 victory over visiting Portland, which lost for the first time this season.

Just a few days ago, the Bulls (2-1) seemed completely reliant on Derrick Rose, who started the night as the NBA's top scorer with 33.5 points per game. Naturally, the Blazers focused their defense on stopping Rose and he responded by tying a career-high with 13 assists, to go with 16 points.

“(Deng) got 40 points, but it wasn't any isos (isolation plays),” Bulls guard Kyle Korver said. “It wasn't like we were standing around watching Lu. And that's pretty special to have someone who can get 40 points and we didn't really call a lot of plays for him.”

Deng was due for a good game, without a doubt. He shot the ball well during the preseason, then struggled when the real games began, shooting just 30 percent from the field in the first two contests.

This performance could be called a no-doubter. Deng piled up 16 points in the first quarter while going 6-for-7 from the field. He tacked on 16 more in the third quarter and reached his career high by draining a corner 3-pointer with 5:36 remaining. Oddly enough, Deng's previous career high also came against Portland in 2007.

“I played the same game; I had the same shots,” Deng said, referring to his poor start to the season. “Early, my shots went in and the way the game went, with them trying to blitz Derrick Rose on the pick-and-roll and guys finding open guys, I thought we moved the ball great. I thought it was the best we've moved the ball so far.”

Overall, the Bulls' scoring distribution was good. Taj Gibson added 12 points, Korver scored 11, while Joakim Noah added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“I thought Derrick was terrific,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought he got a fast pace to the game, got us some easy scoring opportunities. I thought he was great with the pass tonight. I think he's reading what's happening. They trapped him more and he made the right play.”

Thibodeau gave Johnson a fair chance to follow up Saturday's solid performance. For a while in the first half, the 6-foot-9 Johnson played shooting guard. He picked up 5 fouls, though, and scored just 2 points in 11 minutes.

Center Omer Asik got a long run, playing 26 minutes against Portland's big lineup before fouling out with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

The Bulls imposed their will from the start of this one, jumping to first-quarter leads of 15-6 and 30-17. Portland got as close as 7 points late in the first half but trailed by double digits most of the time.

The Blazers (3-1) did make a brief run in the fourth quarter, trimming the lead from 17 to 9 points without any starters on the floor. The Bulls answered with a free throw, then Korver drained a 3-pointer to provide a more comforting 105-92 advantage with three minutes remaining.

The Bulls had their hands full with Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 33 points. Guard Brandon Roy (17 points) hit just 4 of 12 shots, and the Blazers' only other player in double figures was rookie guard Armon Johnson with 10.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

<P>Bulls 110, Blazers 98</P>

<P><B>Scoring options:</B> Portland's defense was focused on stopping Derrick Rose, so he focused on setting up teammate Luol Deng, who scored a career-high 40 points. Rose finished with 16 points and 13 assists as the Bulls were in control throughout.</P>

<P><B>Forgotten man:</B> Blazers center Marcus Camby on Deng: “He is sometimes the forgotten player, but now you see what he can do.”</P>

<P><B>Mixed shooting:</B> While knocking the Blazers (3-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Bulls shot better from the field (60.6 percent) than the free-throw line (59.4).</P>