NBA Capsules
Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22), left, scores a basket against Houston Rockets center Omer Asik (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Thursday, March 13, 2014. The Bulls won 111-87. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO—Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half and Joakim Noah flirted with another triple-double as the Chicago Bulls posted a 111-87 wire-to-wire victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
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.
Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D.J. Augustin 13 and Jimmy Butler 11.
The Bulls improved to 2-2 on their six-game home stand.
The Rockets have dropped two straight. Jeremy Lin led Houston with 21 points, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds. James Harden had eight points on 2-for-7 shooting.
THUNDER 131, LAKERS 102
OKLAHOMA CITY—Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece as Oklahoma City avenged Sunday’s surprising loss to Los Angeles.
Westbrook shot poorly against Lakers on Sunday but made 9 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 won their second straight and climbed within half a game of San Antonio for the top record in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, who scored a career-high 42 points on Sunday, was held to 19 on 6-for-15 shooting. Kent Bazemore scored 16 points and Pau Gasol added 14 for the Lakers.
HAWKS 102, BUCKS 97
ATLANTA—Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta beat Milwaukee for its first back-to-back victories in nearly six weeks.
Jeff Teague added 22 points, including eight in the final period when the struggling teams traded the lead several times.
The Hawks went ahead for good when Korver’s 3-pointer gave them a 90-89 edge with 2:15 left.
Both teams entered the contest having lost 14 of their previous 16 games. The Hawks have plummeted to the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They lead the surging Knicks, who have won five in a row, by 3½ games for the final playoff spot.
Brandon Knight and Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points each for Milwaukee, which has the worst record in the NBA at 13-52.
