A young team, especially one whose best player is a rookie, is never expected to experience steady growth. There are usually pitfalls along the way.
So it figured that two days after beating Philadelphia handily on the road Sunday, the Bulls came back from the annual circus trip and dropped an overtime decision to the Sixers. It was the Bulls' first game at the United Center in 17 days. "Losing games, it helps wake you up," Rose said after the loss. "I'm glad we play (Wednesday), get it out of our mind."
Yes, the Bulls will get right back on the court Wednesday in Milwaukee, which has been off since Saturday. The Bucks, led by former Bulls coach Scott Skiles, has struggled against a rough early schedule. Guard Michael Redd returned Saturday after missing nearly a month with an ankle injury, while center Andrew Bogut is questionable with a knee bruise.
The Bulls opened the regular season with a 108-95 victory over Milwaukee at the United Center back on Oct. 28. Rose had 11 points and nine assists in his NBA debut, while Luol Deng led the Bulls for the only time this season with 21 points.
The Bulls have had mixed results in the second leg of back-to-back games. On the just-completed trip, they lost by 42 points at Portland on one such occasion, but also pulled out a last-second 101-100 win at Utah a night after playing in Denver.
SIXERS 103, BULLS 95 (OT): Down by 16 points early, then by seven with three minutes remaining, the Bulls came all the way back to tie Philadelphia. But they missed 12-of-13 shots in overtime and lost 103-95 at the United Center. Guard Derrick Rose was in foul trouble but still managed to score 24 points. At the end of regulation, his driving lay-up attempt was blocked by the Sixers' Andre Iguodala, but Tyrus Thomas slammed home the rebound to even the score with 17.6 seconds remaining. In overtime, though, Philadelphia guard Andre Miller scored nine of his team's 13 points. After being abused by Rose several times during a Bulls victory in Philly on Sunday, Miller responded with 28 points in the rematch.
