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April 13, 2010

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Home » Sports » Basketball

Bulls close in on playoffs berth

Source: Agencies | April 13, 2010, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE Chicago Bulls moved one game ahead of Toronto in the race for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot with a 104-88 win over the struggling Raptors on Sunday.

Derrick Rose scored 26 points while Joakim Noah recorded 18 and 19 rebounds for the Bulls (39-41), who built a 19-point lead through three quarters to cruise.

"We really played hard," Noah told reporters. "We played the right way. We followed the game plan and it was a question of the right intensity."

Toronto (38-42) lost its fifth successive game and is reeling in the absence of All-Star Chris Bosh, who suffered a facial fracture last Tuesday and will miss the rest of the regular season.

Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Magic 98, Cavaliers 92; Trail Blazers 91, Lakers 88; Heat 111, Knicks 98; Hornets 114, Timberwolves 86; Warriors 120, Thunder 117; and Suns 116, Rockets 106.

In Toronto, Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems scored 18 points each for the Raptors who have two games remaining and hold the tie-breaker over Chicago should they end with the same record, having won two of their three games this season.

The Bulls have capitalized on the collapse of the Raptors and put themselves back in playoff position despite a season that has included a 10-game losing streak and injuries to Rose and Noah.

Chicago fell to the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets on Friday but rebounded quickly and led for the entire game on Sunday.

"They were better than us, obviously," said Raptors coach Jay Triano, summing up the loss that was a crushing blow to his already battered team which was without several injured players.

Toronto forward Hedo Turkoglu also struggled to 2-for-12 shooting after sustaining a head injury last week.

In Cleveland, Ohio, Mickael Pietrus scored all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Jameer Nelson hit a late three-pointer to help Orlando to victory over Cleveland, which is resting LeBron James for the playoffs.

Pietrus made two three-pointers to open the fourth, and Nelson connected with 2:53 left to make it 96-88. Dwight Howard had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for Orlando.

Delonte West had 21 points, and Mo Williams had 19 points and nine assists for the Cavaliers, who finished the regular season 35-6 at home.

In Los Angeles, Martell Webster hit three free throws with 3.1 seconds left, and Portland tied San Antonio for seventh place in the Western Conference to improve its chances of avoiding Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher combined to miss three free throws in the final 6.9 seconds, and Pau Gasol missed a three-pointer at the buzzer for the top-seeded Lakers.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost leading scorer Brandon Roy at halftime because of sore right knee.

Gasol led the Lakers with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lamar Odom added 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Bryant had 20.
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