Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Luol Deng scored 20 points and the Chicago Bulls picked up a rare win over the Kings, 109-88, at ARCO Arena.
Ben Gordon also scored 20 and Tyrus Thomas posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who beat Sacramento for just the fourth time in the last 20 meetings. They had lost nine straight at ARCO Arena prior to Friday night, but Joakim Noah finished with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had six boards to help the Bulls win in Sacramento for the first time since November 23, 1997.
Kirk Hinrich had 11 points and seven assists for Chicago, which has posted dominating wins in its last two contests following a five-game skid. The Bulls routed the Clippers, 95-75, on Wednesday and are now 2-1 on a seven-game road trip with tough contests upcoming against Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans and Dallas.
Kevin Martin scored 27 for the Kings, who fell to 0-21 against Eastern Conference teams. John Salmons scored 16, and Jason Thompson had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Kings lost their eighth in a row and fell to 10-38 on the season, the worst mark in the Western Conference.
Chicago took control of the game in the first quarter with a 34-22 lead after 12 minutes. There was a 20-4 run that helped the Bulls take command. Thomas had six of those points and the flurry ended on a layup from Andres Nocioni for a 32-17 difference with a minute remaining.
The Kings got within nine in the second, but trailed 54-43 at the break and fell further behind in the third. Gordon's jumper expanded Chicago's lead to 71-52 at the midway point and it was 83-63 headed to the fourth.
Despite the large lead, which reached 25 with three minutes remaining on a Cedric Simmons bucket, the Bulls kept a majority of their starters in for the early portion of the last quarter.
