Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half and Joakim Noah flirted with another triple-double as the Chicago Bulls routed the Houston Rockets 111-87 on Thursday.
In other games around the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged Sunday’s surprise loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-102 rematch victory and the Atlanta Hawks won their first back-to-back games in nearly six weeks with a 102-97 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Chicago’s Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score.
Photo: AFP
Kirk Hinrich added 19 points for the Bulls, going five for six on three-pointers, while Carlos Boozer scored 18 points, DJ Augustin 13 and Jimmy Butler 11.
Jeremy Lin scored 21 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who have dropped two straight.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece in Oklahoma City’s win over the Lakers.
Photo: EPA
Westbrook shot poorly against the Lakers on Sunday, but made nine of 17 shots and had nine assists in the rematch.
Serge Ibaka added 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks for the Thunder, who climbed within half a game of San Antonio for the top record in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Atlanta’s Jeff Teague had 22 points and Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks beat the Bucks. Both teams entered the contest having lost 14 of their previous 16 games.
The Hawks have plummeted to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, leading the surging Knicks by three games for the final playoff spot.
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