Bulls wrap up trip with victory in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA(AP) Derrick Rose seems unfazed by the rigorous NBA schedule.In
the final stop on a seven-game, 12-day road trip which began Nov. 18 in
Los Angeles against the Lakers, the 20-year-old No. 1 overall pick in
the draft still had plenty of energy.Ben Gordon scored 21
points, Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Chicago
Bulls rallied from an early deficit for a 103-92 victory over the
Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.Rose contributed 18 points and 10
assists and reached double figures in assists for the first time this
season. Reserve Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Bulls (8-9), who won
for only the third time in 10 games on the road.All three of Chicago's road wins came during this stretch."We got the ball in his hands in transition and he was finding guys,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said of Rose.Rose entered the game averaging 5.8 assists, the best mark among rookies."I'm
feeling good and taking it game by game,'' said Rose, who played a
team-high 40 minutes. "We're moving the ball and finding the open
person. We're playing team basketball and that's what it's all about.''Elton
Brand had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young added 17 points
for the reeling Sixers, who have lost four straight to fall to 7-10.
Andre Miller had 15 points and 10 assists, and Willie Green chipped in
with 12 points.Philadelphia scored a season-low 78 points in a
24-point loss at Boston on Friday and has been held below the 100-point
mark in seven consecutive games."We've got to step it up,'' Brand said. "We've lost two games in a row where the other team has taken it to us.''The
Bulls held a 71-66 lead late in the third before running off 12
straight points to take an 83-66 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Rose had six of the 12 points, including a high-flying, one-handed dunk
with 32 seconds remaining."I think by us spreading out the
basketball the way we did, we were really consistent with our effort in
the zone and we got in transition,'' Del Negro said.After a
3-pointer by Hughes gave the Bulls a 92-73 lead with 7:21 left, the
fans booed and a large throng of them began to vacate the arena. When
the game ended, the boos careened down once again."We have to get ourselves back in the mind-set of defending,'' Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.The
Sixers led by as many as 15 points in the first half before Chicago
went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 41-40 on a basket by Luol Deng
with 4:57 remaining.Philadelphia finished the half strong and held what would wind up being a short-lived 55-52 lead.Notes:
Brand was originally selected by Chicago with the top pick in the 1999
draft. Brand spent two seasons with the Bulls and seven with the Los
Angeles Clippers before signing with the Sixers as a free agent in
July. Young had 11 points in the first quarter for the Sixers. The
announced crowd was 13,561, but there were pockets of empty seats
throughout the 20,000-plus seat arena.