CHICAGO — Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Derrick Rose — in his third game back after missing two months following knee surgery — had 22 points and eight assists in 28 minutes in the Chicago Bulls' 114-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
The Bulls remained tied with the Toronto Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference with two games to go for each team.
The 76ers dressed just nine players, but stayed close with an aggressive, attacking style on both ends. Robert Covington led Philadelphia with 22 points, Jason Richardson had 19, and JaKarr Sampson 18.
The Bulls have dropped seven home games to teams with losing records this season, so it wasn't surprising they got off to a sluggish start against Philadelphia.
After taking a 28-26 lead at the end of the first despite making only 8 of 22 field-goal attempts, the Bulls managed just two points in the first 5 minutes of the second to fall behind 39-30.
Chicago then snapped out of it with a 22-11 run to take a 52-50 lead in the final minute of the first half, but Covington's three-point play with 4 seconds to go gave the Sixers a 53-52 halftime edge.
Two days earlier, the Bulls erased a 19-point halftime in Miami with a dominant 57-27 second half. But it was apparent early in the second half Saturday there would be no repeat performance.
Aaron Brooks scored at the buzzer ending the quarter to give the Bulls an 81-78 lead entering the fourth.
The Bulls opened up leads of at least seven points — they led by as many as nine — on four occasions in the fourth only to see the 76ers charge back within striking range. The spread was just three points before Rose scored on a spinning driving layup with a minute to play for a 110-105 lead.
TIP INS
76ers: Nerlens Noel (right ankle sprain), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (left shoulder strain), Isaiah Canaan (right foot sprained) and Ish Smith (left groin strain) didn't play, leaving Philadelphia short-handed. "We're hurting;" coach Brett Brown said. "We're left with nine players. Other than that, we're doing great."
Bulls: Guard Kirk Hinrich didn't play in the second half after hyperextending his left knee in the first half. He was scoreless in five minutes.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host Milwaukee on Monday night.
Bulls: At Brooklyn on Monday night.