Boozer factor helps Bulls win fifth straight

Carlos Boozer doesn't appear to be a great individual defender, especially when it comes to moving his feet, and he's averaged a relatively meager 14.6 points per game since returning Dec. 1 from a broken right hand.

But there are a couple of unmistakable trends developing among the Bulls, who won their fifth straight game with a 113-82 tip-to-horn blowout of Minnesota on Saturday at the United Center.

Boozer factor No. 1: Derrick Rose has evolved into the game's most lethal long-range shooter.

During the five-game winning streak, anyway, he's knocked down 16 of 25 shots from 3-point land for an astounding 64 percent success rate.

Rose hit 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range and 8 of 10 overall against Minnesota to finish with 21 points and 7 assists in limited action. Prior to this recent stretch, Rose shot 32.8 percent from 3-point range this season and was at 27 percent over his career.

Asked if he thinks Boozer's presence in the paint is giving him more time to line up his 3-point shot, Rose was emphatic.

“Way more. Way more,” he said. “I've been working on my shot, just speeding it up a little bit. I told you before the season started when somebody's in the low post like that, sometimes you've got to double-team them.

“If the guard even takes an inch, I've got to be ready to spot up. As long as they keep double-teaming 'Los and leaving me wide open, I'm going to shoot.”

Most teams will expend more effort than Minnesota did trying to guard the 3-point line. But during the five-game streak, the Bulls are shooting a stellar 46.3 percent from long range as a team.

Boozer factor No. 2: The Bulls have suddenly found their defensive confidence. It was missing as recently as last weekend, when they allowed Boston to shoot 54 percent from the field and gave up 116 points in an overtime win against Houston.

In four games this week, though, the Bulls (14-8) surrendered an average of 84.8 points and a field-goal percentage of .392. The opponents during that stretch included the Lakers and Oklahoma City. Even the lowly Timberwolves were averaging 103 points per game this season and scored just 82 on Saturday.

“I think (Boozer) is understanding the schemes a lot better and I think we're understanding as a team that we're shrinking the floor a lot better in pick-and-rolls,” center Joakim Noah said.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau didn't inject much enthusiasm into his statement about the defense.

“The defense is coming around,” he said. “I think our ball pressure has improved, our weak-side (help) has improved. We still have a long way to go. There are a lot of areas we can still improve upon.”

The Minnesota victory began a stretch of the schedule where the Bulls play 15 of their next 18 games against teams that had a losing record through Saturday.

The Bulls have also played 15 of their 22 games against Western Conference opponents. Now they'll play 17 of the next 18 against the East.

“It feels good to win five in a row,” Noah said. “We've just got to stay hungry, stay humble and stay driven. We've still got a lot of work to do to become the team we want to be. We want to be one of the elite teams in the East.”

No one played even 30 minutes for the Bulls against the Timberwolves (6-18). Luol Deng took advantage of Michael Beasley's invisible defense to score 19 points. Boozer finished with 17, while Noah piled up 10 rebounds, 9 points and 6 blocks.

Forward Kevin Love (23 points, 15 rebounds) appeared to be the only Timberwolves player who showed up ready to play.

<b><p>Mike McGraw's game tracker</p></b>

<b><p>Bulls 113, Timberwolves 82</p></b>

<p>Five the easy way: The Bulls ran their winning streak to five in breezy fashion. They built a 26-point lead in the second quarter and coasted from there, allowing the starters to sit out the entire fourth quarter.</p>

<p>Rose doesn't miss: While scoring 21 points against Minnesota, guard Derrick Rose drained 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range. He's knocked down an impressive 16 of 25 attempts from long range during the win streak.</p>

<p>Door shuts early: The Bulls have been stingy before halftime this week. In the last three games, Minnesota scored 37 points in the first half, the Lakers had 32 and Cleveland 35. That's an average of 17.3 points per quarter.</p>