Bulls pull away in 4th quarter to drop Warriors

CHICAGO -- John Salmons and Brad Miller have already made their presence felt with the Bulls. However, Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro is expecting more from his two veterans as the team makes a push for a postseason spot.

Salmons had 23 points and seven rebounds, Joakim Noah added 14 points and 17 rebounds and the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors 110-88 Wednesday night.

Miller finished with 19 points and six rebounds, Derrick Rose finished with 14 points and six assists, and the Bulls pulled into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

"Guys like John and Brad, veteran players, they have a good feel for the game. As they get more acclimated with what the team is doing, we will be even more productive," Del Negro said.

Leading by six at halftime, Chicago stretched the advantage to 11 on Miller's jumper with 3:54 left in the third quarter. Rose's jumper gave the Bulls a 75-62 lead heading into the fourth.

The Bulls, coming off a 16-point loss to Charlotte the previous night, pulled away early in the fourth quarter. Tyrus Thomas' dunk sparked a 6-0 run to start the period, and Miller's jumper put the Bulls up 81-62 with 10:09 left.

The Bulls improved to 18-11 at the United Center, compared to 10-23 on the road. Rose doesn't have an explanation for the difference.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know. We've been trying to figure that out the whole season," Rose said. "The only thing I can say is that we need to be consistent, no matter where we are at, here, Mars, anywhere, we still have to play more consistent and together."

Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 19 points and six assists.

Jamal Crawford scored 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and Corey Maggette finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, who led by 13 points in the first quarter.

"I thought after a good performance in Minnesota [118-94 win] that we'd come in here and really play well, and we did for the first quarter," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "But that was the worst three quarters of basketball we've played in two months."

The Bulls played their second straight game without forward Luol Deng, who was out with a stress fracture in his right leg.

Deng had a review of a repeat MRI and a CT scan of his tibia earlier in the day, indicating an early anterior stress fracture. He sat out his second straight game after sustaining the injury Saturday night in Chicago's win against Houston. An MRI on Sunday didn't reveal any damage.

"I want to try to get back as soon as possible. We just want to make sure exactly what it is," said Deng, who may seek a third opinion.

The Bulls were also without Tim Thomas, who missed the game with a left knee strain. Miller and Kirk Hinrich were the only bench players to play meaningful minutes for the Bulls.

The Warriors opened the game with a 20-6 lead on Marco Belinelli's 3-pointer, but that was the highlight of the night for the Warriors.

"It was just horrible and it was everybody. I didn't have a guy that played after the first quarter worth a darn on the roster," Nelson said.

Trailing 20-6, the Bulls got back in it with a 12-2 run, capped by Miller's putback to cut the deficit to four points. Noah's basket early in the second quarter gave Chicago a 28-26 lead.

Game notes
Golden State G Monta Ellis missed his fifth straight game with ankle stiffness. He was not with the team. .... Anthony Randolph had a highlight block on Tyrus Thomas in the first quarter.