Basketball
Bulls, Thunder continue to pace NBA with wins over conference rivals
CHICAGO — Britain’s Luol Deng scored 20 points while Derrick Rose and John Lucas each added 13 to power host Chicago over Indiana 92-72 and stretch the Bulls’ NBA win streak to seven games.
The Bulls improved their NBA-best record to 32-8 while snapping Indiana’s six-game win streak. The Pacers fell to 23-13, seven games off Chicago’s pace in the Central division.
Chicago’s Joakim Noah grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds while Rose contributed a game-high nine assists for the Bulls.
Indiana’s Paul George scored a game-high 21 points while George Hill added 17 in a losing cause.
The Bulls did not gain any ground in the quest for the NBA’s best overall record, however.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference leaders with the NBA’s second-best record, improved to 30-8 with a 95-91 home victory over reigning NBA champion Dallas.
Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and Kevin Durant added 22 to lead the Thunder, who trailed 52-45 at half-time before outscoring the Mavericks 23-13 in the third quarter to seize command.
German star Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 27 points for the Mavericks while Jason Terry added 18 points and a game-high seven assists for Dallas, which fell to 22-17.
Kendrick Perkins pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City.
