Chicago Bulls Kick Off Circus Trip With A Victory
The Chicago Bulls were not clowning around on Wednesday as the team kicked off their five-game circus road trip. First up on the road trip was a trip to Phoenix to face the Suns. Starting point guard Kirk Hinrich returned to the lineup as the Bulls remained undefeated on the road. The discouraging note about Wednesday’s game for the Bulls was that the team allowed the Suns back into the game during the fourth quarter. The Bulls entered the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead against the Suns, but the Suns outscored the Bulls 31 to 17 during the final 12 minutes of the game and that pushed the game into overtime. In overtime, the Bulls’ defense closed the door on the Suns’ fourth quarter rally and outscored the Suns 12 to 6 to lead the team to a 112 t0 106 victory on Wednesday. The Bulls improved their record to 5 and 3 overall with a road record of 2 and 0.
Nov. 14, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) reacts on the court after scoring during the game against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at US Airways Center. The Bulls defeated the Suns 112-106 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE
In his return to the Bulls’ lineup on Wednesday, Hinrich played 27 minutes while scoring 3 points and dishing out 7 assists. Nate Robinson provided a spark off the bench as the point guard scored 11 points to go along with 4 assists in his 26 minutes of playing time during Wednesday’s victory against the Suns. Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng led the offensive charge for the Bears. Noah finished the game with 21 point while gathering 12 rebounds in 42 minutes of playing time. Boozer scored a team-high 28 points while collecting 14 rebounds. Luol Deng scored 21 points while also playing a team-high 46 minutes. Richard Hamilton scored 15 points in 37 minutes of playing time on Wednesday.
All in all, the Bulls earned the victory and that of course is the end-goal. But, the way the Bulls allowed the Suns back into the game during the fourth quarter was indeed discouraging. The Bulls will now travel to Los Angeles, where they will presumably meet up with rehabbing point guard Derrick Rose, and play the Clippers on Saturday.