Deng, Noah Lead Rose-Less Bulls Past Celtics

Luol Deng scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and Joakim Noah added 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 93-86 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

The Bulls again played without Derrick Rose, out due to a strained groin for the 12th consecutive game. Chicago, which has been without Rose for 22 games this season, improved to 15-7 in his absence — including 8-4 during the latest stretch.

The Bulls rallied from 13 points down in the first half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to end its first two-game losing streak of the season.

Paul Pierce scored 22 points for Boston, which has lost two in a row after a winning a season-high five straight.