Dengs scores 24, grabs 20 boards as Bulls rally from 18 down to beat Bucks 83-81

Deng, Bulls rally to beat Bucks 83-81

CHICAGO — Luol Deng scored 24 points while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from 18 down to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 83-81 on Tuesday night.

The Bucks had a chance to win it after Joakim Noah missed two free throws, but Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer, the ball landing out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left.

Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls rebounded from back-to-back losses with a wild win. His dunk on a backdoor cut bumped the Bulls’ lead to 82-75 with 1:28 left, but he also committed a costly turnover in the final minute, when his bad pass led to a short jumper by Brandon Jennings that made it 82-81 with 22 seconds left.

Chicago’s Brad Miller then hit the second free throw after missing the first. Noah blocked Jennings but missed both free throws with 13.7 seconds left, keeping the Bucks within two. But they couldn’t capitalize.

Jennings took the inbounds, passed off to Ilyasova, who missed all three shots and did not score. It was a bitter finish for the Bucks, who were without the injured Michael Redd.

He expects to miss about two weeks after straining a tendon in his left knee during Saturday’s home opener against Detroit.

Even with their star sidelined, the Bucks were in position to pull this one out.

Jennings outplayed Rose for most of the night and finished with 25 points, while Andrew Bogut added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Milwaukee was leading 56-38 after Jennings buried a 3-pointer midway through the third, but the Bulls closed out the quarter with an 18-4 run that pulled them within four with him on the bench for much of it. They reeled off 11 in a row after that shot, with John Salmons’ 3-pointer making it 56-50 with just over 3 minutes left. And Deng, coming off a 26-point game against Miami, hit from beyond the arc at the buzzer to make it 60-56.

The Bulls finally tied it at 66 with 8:15 left in the game, after Deng converted a three-point play and Miller buried another 3. Jannero Pargo gave them their first lead — 71-68 — with a 3-pointer midway through the fourth.

NOTES: Redd accompanied the Bucks to Chicago for Tuesday’s game to be examined by Bulls physician Dr. Brian Cole, who operated on him last March. … Chicago attempted 31 free throws, compared to just 10 for the Bucks. … Bulls F Tyrus Thomas stayed home with flu-like symptoms. … Fans greeted Magic Johnson with a friendly ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter.