Dec. 11--The summary
Derrick Rose got Tom Thibodeau's memo.
One day after the Bulls' coach implored his star to attack the basket more, Rose scored a game-high 23 points to help lead the Bulls to a 105-80 victory over the Nets. More importantly, six of his first nine shots were on aggressive drives to the rim.
All five Bulls' starters and reserve Nikola Mirotic reached double figures. That included Pau Gasol's seventh straight double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds and four 3-pointers from Mike Dunleavy.
Deron Williams' 17 points led the Nets, who were without Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Andrei Kirilenko.
Turning point
Taj Gibson, who started for the idle Joakim Noah, started a 15-2 run with a jumper off a Rose assist and ended it with an emphatic dunk as the Bulls ran away and hid in the third quarter.
Tribune player of game
Rose. For good measure, he dropped 3 of 5 3-pointers in the second half.
Big number
29. That's how many points the Bulls limited the Nets to in the second half, including a 4:36 drought to open the fourth quarter.
The quote
"I thought he was more aggressive in general the whole night. And that's what we need from him. The more aggressive he is, the better we are." -- Thibodeau on Rose
The quote II
"I'm not all the way there yet. But it's a process." -- Rose
The quote III
"Pau had a rough going early, but that's what I love about him. The guy just keeps working the game. He was rebounding, blocking shots." -- Thibodeau
The quote IV
"You're always happy when you're helping your team. This year has been really positive so far. To me, it's always the challenge of keeping it up. I just want to be the best I can be to help this team win." -- Gasol
Up next: vs. Trail Blazers at 6 p.m. Friday.
