Hornets Vs. Bulls: Derrick Rose Leads Chicago By New Orleans As Chris Paul Sits

The Chicago Bulls have become fairly accustomed to dominating in low-scoring defensive games. In Derrick Rose, the Bulls have someone they can depend on to create offense in a pinch, like at the end of a tight game with the opposing defense set. That wasn't exactly what happened as the Bulls found themselves tied with the New Orleans Hornets at 77 with about three minutes left, but it's what Chicago does.

In this particular battle, Rose struggled to finish off the Hornets himself, missing his final three shots of the game. But Chicago's superlative defense stopped New Orleans, who were missing their own great creator, and a key putback by Joakim Noah followed by a drawn foul (and two sunk shots) by Luol Deng gave the Bulls enough offense to run out the game. Rose shot just 8-21 for the game for 24 points, but Carlos Boozer earned 19 on 8-14 shooting, and the Bulls survived Deng's tough night (2-12) to hold on for a 85-77 win.

Defensive battle? Yes -- the teams shot a combined 37 percent. Both were on the business end of a back-to-back, and New Orleans is shallow enough when Chris Paul is in the line-up. He suffered a concussion in the Hornets' Sunday win over the Cavaliers and stayed on the bench for this game. It was the first game he'd missed all season.