Ben Gordon had 39 points, John Salmons finished with 19 after a slow start and the Chicago Bulls hit the .500 mark for the first time since mid-November with a 113-106 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats last night.
With the Bulls trailing 93-92 midway through the fourth, Salmons and Gordon hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the decisive 10-point run and send Chicago to its fourth straight win and 11th in 14 games. Derrick Rose added 22 as the seventh-place Bulls (40-40) strengthened their standing in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago moved a game ahead of the Pistons, a 106-102 loser to Indiana, with two to play heading into Monday's meeting at Detroit. The Bulls also pulled to a half-game behind sixth-place Philadelphia with their 14th win in 15 home games. And, if you can believe it, fifth-place Miami isn't quite out of reach, either.
Chicago now trails the Heat by 1½ games, but playoff possibilities aside, the Bulls needed to get by a team that saw its postseason hopes die the previous night in an 84-81 loss at Oklahoma City.
Raymond Felton (26 points) and Boris Diaw (24 points) kept the Bobcats in it for 3½ quarters, but the Bulls pulled away behind a late surge by Gordon and Salmons.
Gordon was 7 of 12 on 3-pointers . He scored 13 in the fourth, while Salmons had 11 after three quiet quarters.
Considering they were 7-18 early in the season, the fact that the Bobcats were in the playoff chase until Friday was remarkable. Then again, the Bulls looked like a long shot for most of the year.
The Bulls were nine games below .500 in late January and were still eight under after losing at Philadelphia on March 13. But now? They're at .500 for the first time since a win over Indiana on Nov. 15 that put them at 5-5.
Charlotte's remaining games are at New Jersey on Monday and at Orlando on Wednesday.
CHARLOTTE -- Wallace 5-11 1-1 13, Diaw 9-20 4-4 24, Okafor 4-7 5-10 13, Augustin 5-13 2-3 15, Felton 10-17 5-6 26, Howard 2-2 0-0 4, Diop 0-0 3-4 3, Radmanovic 2-3 0-0 5, Jefferson 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 38-76 21-30 106.
CHICAGO -- Salmons 5-18 5-6 19, Ty.Thomas 3-10 3-6 9, Noah 4-5 3-3 11, Gordon 13-25 6-6 39, Rose 10-16 2-2 22, Hinrich 4-5 2-2 10, Miller 1-4 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 40-84 22-27 113.
Charlotte 23 27 33 23 -- 106
Chicago 30 22 26 35 -- 113
3-Point Goals--Charlotte 9-15 (Augustin 3-4, Wallace 2-2, Diaw 2-5, Radmanovic 1-2, Felton 1-2), Chicago 11-24 (Gordon 7-12, Salmons 4-11, Hinrich 0-1). Fouled Out--Wallace, Miller. Rebounds--Charlotte 51 (Okafor 14), Chicago 45 (Noah 10). Assists--Charlotte 25 (Augustin 8), Chicago 27 (Rose, Noah 7). Total Fouls--Charlotte 21, Chicago 20. Technicals--Wallace, Noah, Chicago defensive three second. A--20,265 (21,711).
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