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Bulls lead wire-to-wire in victory over Dallas

The Bulls improved to 29-16 with a 102-98 victory over the Mavericks Friday night in Dallas.

The Mavericks closed within two with under thirty seconds go play, but Derrick Rose kept a possession alive tapping a loose ball to Kirk Hinrich to secure the victory.

The Bulls were led by Jimmy Butler's all-around game of 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Derrick Rose added 20 points and Pau Gasol followed a 17 rebound performance Thursday night vs. San Antonio with 16 rebounds Friday night in Dallas.

The Bulls came out strong leading 30-21 after the first quarter. Rose had a hot hand early connecting on five of six shots from the field including three from three point land in opening quarter.

The Bulls offense continued to hum early in the second quarter extending their lead to 43-32 before a Dallas run cut the Bulls lead to five midway through the quarter. Late in the quarter Dallas closed within one but the Bulls took a 54-51 lead into intermission led by Rose's 18 points.

The Mavericks tied the game twice in the third quarter but the Bulls answered back each time and closed the quarter with an 80-75 lead despite 16 turnovers to that point.

Notes:Joakim Noah returned to start for the Bulls after missing four games with an ankle injury. The Bulls never trailed and committed a season-high 24 turnovers in the victory. The Bulls held the 2nd highest scoring team in the league to ten points under their average.

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