Recap: Chicago vs. San Antonio

Sports Network | October 30, 2009

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Luol Deng finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, as the Chicago Bulls used a balanced scoring attack to take a 92-85 win over the San Antonio Spurs in their season-opener.

Derrick Rose finished with 13 points, seven boards and seven assists for the Bulls, who went 41-41 last season and lost to Boston in a memorable seven-game first round playoff series.

Tyrus Thomas also scored 13, while Kirk Hinrich added 14 points off the bench; Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

"We know it's a good game, but we've got to keep on building on it," Deng said. "It's going to be a long season. I feel like we're mature enough this year that we could stay consistent with it."

Tim Duncan recorded game highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds, but the Spurs had only one other player reach double-figure scoring -- Manu Ginobili, with 12.

Ginobili added six boards and four assists for San Antonio, which opened its season with a win Wednesday over New Orleans.

"Obviously we didn't shoot the ball well, and that contributes to the loss. But I don't really care about that, 'cause that can happen. You can have nights when you make shots, you don't make shots," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "But your hustle, your defense, your boards, your attention to detail is what sustains you, especially on the road. And we didn't have any of that as a group."

The game was back-and-forth for the first half, as the Spurs held a 23-22 lead after the opening quarter, while Hinrich's three-pointer at the end of the second made it a 47-46 Bulls lead at the break.

Chicago opened up a lead in the third with a seven-point burst, which Noah ended with two free throws for a 58-52 advantage.

Another seven-point burst later in the frame stretched the Bulls' lead to double digits, as Hinrich's basket made it a 72-58 contest with a little more than two minutes left.

George Hill's layup ended the third to bring the Spurs within 74-64, but Thomas opened the fourth with a free throw and jumper. After Duncan sank a free throw, Rose's jumper pushed Chicago's lead to a game-high 14 points, 79-65, and the Bulls held on for the final 9 1/2 minutes to seal the win.

Chicago's victory snapped a four-game slide vs. San Antonio, which had swept the two-game series in each of the last two seasons. The Bulls' last victory over the Spurs prior to Thursday came on January 15, 2007...John Salmons had 10 points for the Bulls...Richard Jefferson contributed nine points for San Antonio, while Tony Parker and Hill each had eight...Both teams shot poorly from three-point range, as Chicago went 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) and San Antonio was 4-for-21 (19 percent).