Bulls bounce back

CHICAGO — Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler combined for 55 points as the Chicago Bulls rebounded from one of their worst defensive losses in recent memory with a 104-98 win over Oklahoma City Thursday. Rose and Butler outshone the Thunders’ dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as two of the NBA’s top ranked teams squared off for the first time this season. The Bulls allowed the Thunder to tie the score three times down the stretch, but each time Chicago was able to re-take the lead before holding them off in a thrilling finish. Rose sealed the victory by scoring 10 of his team’s final 12 points in the fourth quarter. Chicago was coming off an embarrassing 130-105 road loss to Charlotte Tuesday. Durant led all scorers with 33 points and Westbrook had 20 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who have dropped three straight games after winning their first three contests of the season. Trailing 90-84 with 6:04 left in the fourth, Westbrook and Durant combined to score six straight points to tie it 90-90. But Rose made sure the Thunder were kept in check. He buried four jump shots and hit a pair of free throws in the final 3:35 of the game. Forward Pau Gasol finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Aaron Brooks and forward Taj Gibson each scored nine points for the Bulls. The Bulls led 57-50 at the half thanks to a big second-quarter effort. They erased a three-point deficit in the first 4:39 of the second with an impressive 15-4 run sparked by a balanced attack. Brooks and Gibson each contributed five points. Butler and Rose did the rest. Heat 96, Timberwolves 84 Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 25 points, and backcourt mate Goran Dragic added 18 as the Miami Heat took down the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-84 at Target Center. It is the fifth time in five games so far this season that Wade has scored at least 20 points. Thursday’s 25-point effort matched a season high. The 33-year-old also notched 25 points against Cleveland on Oct. 30. The Heat (3-2) held the Timberwolves to 35.3 percent shooting for the game. Miami shot 48.7 from the floor and 18-for-25 from the free-throw line. Hornets 108, Mavericks 94 Charlotte center Al Jefferson scored a season-high 31 and the Hornets snapped a long losing skid in Dallas by blowing past the Mavericks 108-94 at American Airlines Center. The Hornets (2-3) had lost 14 games in Dallas, stretching back to 1998 and the Mavs’ previous home of Reunion Arena. Jazz 96, Nuggets 84 Gordon Hayward scored 20 points, Trevor Booker had 13 points and nine rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84. Trey Burke and Alec Burks had 12 points each off the bench for Utah, who rebounded from a tough loss 24 hours earlier. Burks added a game-high eight assists. Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 96 Damian Lillard’s 14 third-quarter points were the impetus for the Portland Trail Blazers’ 115-96 romp past the Memphis Grizzlies at the Moda Center. Lillard scored a game-high 27 points, raining in seven of 11 shots from beyond the arc, while guard CJ McCollum added 20 points as the Trail Blazers (4-2) won their third consecutive game. — Agencies