Bulls Get Another High-Scoring Effort

The Chicago Bulls have won the past few seasons on the strength of their defense, and they were expected to do so again with the addition of Ben Wallace in the summer. Lately, it's been the offense

Thursday, December 7th 2006, 6:31 am

By: News On 6

The Chicago Bulls have won the past few seasons on the strength of their defense, and they were expected to do so again with the addition of Ben Wallace in the summer. Lately, it's been the offense that has carried them.

Ben Gordon scored 17 of his 31 points in a lopsided first-quarter, and the Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers 121-94 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight win.

``We don't have an All-Star scorer, so I think that's why it may take some people by surprise,'' Gordon said. ``But we do have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball.''

The Bulls have not lost since a 123-108 rout at Philadelphia on Nov. 24, when the 76ers' Allen Iverson scored a season-high 46 points.

``We were down, but it's the NBA; you get up the next day and you think about the next team,'' said Luol Deng, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds. ``We did a good job of that. We've just been playing great.''

The 121 points were a season-high for the Bulls, who have scored at least 100 in eight straight games.

``We've really been doing a good job of hitting guys in spots where they can score the basketball,'' Gordon said.

In other games Wednesday night, it was: Washington 113, New York 102; Cleveland 95, Toronto 91; Indiana 94, Orlando 80; San Antonio 96, Charlotte 76; Memphis 98, Boston 96; Minnesota 90, Houston 84; Milwaukee 102, Portland 94 in overtime; Atlanta 98, Denver 96; and New Orleans 105, the Los Angeles Lakers 89.

The Bulls hit 13-of-17 shots in the opening quarter to go ahead 39-16, and were 48-of-78 (62 percent) from the field. They improved to .500 (9-9) and gained some payback against the Sixers, losers of six straight and 12 of 14.

``Obviously, something needs to be done,'' Iverson said. ``There needs to be a change. Somehow, something needs to be scrambled up. We need to figure out how to play a different way, because the way we're playing is not getting it done.''

Wizards 113, Knicks 102

Gilbert Arenas scored 38 points, and the Washington used a sizzling performance from 3-point range to get its first road victory of the season.

In a complete turnaround from their last visit to New York, the Wizards went 14-of-20 from behind the arc, tying the franchise record and matching an NBA season high for makes. In a 102-82 loss at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15, the Wizards tied an NBA record for futility by misfiring on all 15 3-point attempts.

Eddy Curry scored 22 points for the Knicks, extending his streak of 20-point games to eight.

Cavaliers 95, Raptors 91

LeBron James scored 26 points to rally host Cleveland past Toronto.

With Cleveland down by seven late, James had three assists, grabbed a rebound and scored five points _ two on a dunk _ during a 13-0 burst that put the Cavs ahead 90-86. After Fred Jones made a 3-pointer for Toronto, James fed Donyell Marshall for a 3 to make it 93-89 with 17.9 seconds remaining.

Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker had 18 apiece and rookie Andrea Bargnani 14 for the Raptors.

Pacers 94, Magic 80

Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington each scored 26 points to lead host Indiana.

Jermaine O'Neal added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Foster grabbed 18 rebounds for the Pacers, who returned home after losing their final three games of a six-game road trip.

Dwight Howard scored 20 points and Grant Hill added 16 for the Eastern Conference-leading Magic.

Spurs 96, Bobcats 76

Tim Duncan shook off a slow start to score 25 points and San Antonio avenged a surprising home loss at Charlotte.

Charlotte, which won in San Antonio 95-92 in overtime three weeks ago, led by seven in the first quarter, when Duncan missed three dunks. But San Antonio recovered and took an 11-point second-quarter lead and the Bobcats faded in the second half after guard Brevin Knight was ejected for picking up two technical fouls.

Sean May scored 18 points, Gerald Wallace had 15 and Raymond Felton added 13 points and nine assists for the Bobcats.

Grizzlies 98, Celtics 96

Rudy Gay's jumper with 2.6 seconds left helped Memphis snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-9 on the road.

Chucky Atkins scored 19 points for the Grizzlies, who squandered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead before Gay took a pass from Mike Miller and sank a long jumper from the top of the key with 2.6 seconds left.

Paul Pierce scored 25 points and Gerald Green scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who lost their fourth straight.

Timberwolves 90, Rockets 84

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 12 rebounds and led a strong defensive effort by host Minnesota.

Houston's Yao Ming had 14 points and eight rebounds, shooting only 5-for-19 from the field. Tracy McGrady finished with 14 points on 5-for-21 shooting. He did have 10 rebounds and seven assists, however.

Bucks 102, Trail Blazers 94, OT

Michael Redd scored 33 to help Milwaukee beat visiting Portland. Redd score 19 of his points after the end of the third quarter, including a key basket early in overtime.

Jarrett Jack scored a career-high 30 points and added 10 assists for the Trail Blazers.

Hawks 98, Nuggets 96

At Denver, Joe Johnson scored 27 points and Shelden Williams hit two free throws with 5 seconds left to lead Atlanta. Salim Stoudamire added 21 points for the Hawks.

Hornets 105, Lakers 89

Chris Paul had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Rasual Butler added 22 points and visiting New Orleans snapped a season-high five-game losing streak.

Jannero Pargo added 21 points off the bench to help coach Byron Scott beat the team he helped to NBA championships during the Lakers' ``Showtime'' era.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 and Lamar Odom added 20 for the Lakers.