Apr. 14: Bulls 151, Bucks 135

The AP reports: The Chicago Bulls couldn’t miss, thanks to the defensively inept Milwaukee Bucks, who haven’t been able to stop anyone all season. Luol Deng scored 32 points and Ben Gordon added 29 as the Chicago Bulls barely fell short for most points in franchise history in a 151-135 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night… Chris Duhon had 22 points and 15 assists for Chicago, which fell five points short of its scoring record of 156 set March 16, 1984 at Portland, and four points short of its regulation record set against Phoenix on Dec. 4, 1990… The lone bright spot for the Bucks was rookie Ramon Sessions, who set a franchise record with 24 assists, three more than Guy Rodgers had in Milwaukee’s sixth game as a franchise on Oct. 31, 1968 against Detroit. Sessions also scored 20 points—the first 20-20 with points and assists in franchise history.

Apr. 13: Magic 104, Bulls 84

The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, and the Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 104-84 to reach the 50-win mark for the first time in 12 years on Sunday night. Dwight Howard added 19 points even though he sat out the fourth quarter, and Rashard Lewis added 18. Orlando got a much-needed win after dropping six of 10 and losing to lottery-bound New York and Minnesota in that span… Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 22 points and Luol Deng added 19, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Magic from reaching 50 wins for the first time since 1995-96.

Apr. 11: Bulls 100, Cavs 95

The AP reports: While LeBron James made it look easy early on, tying his team record by scoring 24 of his 34 points in the first quarter, the Chicago Bulls eventually found a clear path to the rim and beat Cleveland 100-95 on Friday night… Luol Deng led the Bulls with 21 points. Tyrus Thomas added 20 points and 14 rebounds, Joakim Noah chipped in 17 and 11 for Chicago, and both delivered ferocious dunks that left James and coach Mike Brown saying they were embarrassed… James, who finished 13-for-21 from the field, wowed the crowd midway through the first quarter when he drove up court and past Thomas for a hard dunk, and the acrobatics continued.

Apr. 9: Magic 115, Bulls 83

The AP reports: To the rest of the Eastern Conference playoff field, a note: It’s going to take more than a knock to the head and a fat lip to slow down Dwight Howard. Playing with six stitches in his upper lip after a day after a practice collision with 6-foot-11 reserve Marcin Gortat, Howard had 30 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Magic past the Chicago Bulls 115-83 on Wednesday night. It didn’t affect Howard’s game, but “it is affecting my modeling career,” the All-Star said. “Just for a couple days.” Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 19 points, while Ben Gordon and Aaron Gray each scored 13. Tyrus Thomas tied a career high with five blocks… Rashard Lewis finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, Carlos Arroyo had 13 points and six assists and Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Apr. 8: Heat 95, Bulls 88

The AP reports: Back in the NBA, Kasib Powell gave the Miami Heat the type of effort they’ve lacked most of the season. Powell scored a career-high 18 points, leading the Heat to a 95-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night that snapped a seven-game losing streak. Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn each added 16 points as five players scored in double figures for the Heat, the day after coach Pat Riley was elected to the Hall of Fame… Luol Deng led the Bulls with 25 points, 19 of which came in the first half. Ben Gordon and Joakim Noah each added 16 points.

Apr. 5: Wizards 99, Bulls 87

The AP reports: Having a healthy Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas would help, but the Wizards will take what they got on Saturday night—a career-high 25 points from Brendan Haywood, 18 from Butler and a 99-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls… The Bulls got 18 points from Ben Gordon and 16 from Larry Hughes, but it wasn’t enough to beat a team that was missing two of its best players. Jamison, averaging a team-leading 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, was injured late in Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee. He missed his first game of the season on Friday when the Wizards beat Miami to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth.

Apr. 3: Bulls 101, Cavs 98

The AP reports: Ben Gordon made five clutch free throws down the stretch and Larry Hughes scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half against his former team, rallying the Bulls to a 101-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. The Bulls, with nothing to play for in the season’s final weeks, overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half and snapped a six-game road losing streak… Hughes, traded by the Cavaliers to Chicago at the Feb. 21 deadline, added nine assists and eight rebounds in 45 minutes. Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni had 15 each… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 23 points for the Cavaliers, who are trying to nail down the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Apr. 1: Celtics 106, Bulls 92

The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 22 points, and Kevin Garnett added 20 and blocked four shots to lead the Celtics to a 106-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. Paul Pierce scored 17 for Boston, which won its fourth straight and remained six games ahead of Detroit in the conference standings. Allen was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers, Pierce hit 4 of 5 and Boston made 14 of 25 in all—one shy of its season-high. Chicago continued to fade from the playoff picture, despite getting a season-high 24 points from Tyrus Thomas, who started for the injured Drew Gooden, and 19 from Andres Nocioni. With eight games left, the 11th-place Bulls trail Atlanta by five and have to climb over New Jersey and Indiana to make their fourth straight postseason appearance.

Bulls recall two from D-League

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has recalled guard Shannon Brown and forward Cedric Simmons from the Iowa Energy of the D-League. The pair was assigned to the Iowa club on March 15.
 
In six games with the Energy, Brown (6-4, 211) averaged 25.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.3 apg and 2.00 spg in 35.0 mpg. He has appeared in four NBA games since the Bulls acquired him via trade with Cleveland on Feb. 21, and holds averages of 6.0 ppg and 1.0 rpg in 12.3 mpg in 19 appearances this season with Cleveland and Chicago.
 
Simmons (6-9, 235) also played in six games with the Energy and posted averages of 15.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 2.20 bpg in 29.3 mpg. He was also acquired by the Bulls in the Feb. 21 trade and has seen action in four games in Chicago. On the season, he has played in 11 games and averaged 0.5 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 7.1 mpg.
 
Both Brown and Simmons will be with the Bulls tonight when they host the Boston Celtics at the United Center.

Mar. 29: Bulls 114, Bucks 111

The AP reports: Joakim Noah had a season-high 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks to lead the Bulls to a 114-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night after nearly squandering a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bulls couldn’t hold an 18-point lead earlier in the month at home against the 76ers and dropped a game to the Wizards after leading by 20 points in the second half… Larry Hughes scored 19 points and Luol Deng added 16 to help the Bulls win for just the fourth time in 12 games. Chicago pulled 3 1/2 games behind eighth-place Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Michael Redd scored 33 points to lead the Bucks, who lost for the 12 time in 14 games in March. Charlie Villanueva scored 15 of this 26 points in the third quarter, and Mo Williams added 13 points for Milwaukee.