Milwaukee 83, Chicago 92

Kurt Thomas had his best scoring game in nearly six years with 22 points and Derrick Rose added 20 and 10 assists as the Chicago Bulls continued their surge toward the top of the Eastern Conference with a 92-83 home victory over the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
 
Carlos Boozer had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls (31-14), who have won six of seven and 22 of 28. They are one-half game behind second-place Miami and three in back of first-place Boston in the East.
 
Thomas, who has filled in admirably for the injured Joakim Noah at center, had his best game since scoring 24 on Jan. 25, 2005 while playing for the New York Knicks against the Phoenix Suns.
 
Chris Douglas-Roberts tied his season high with 30 points and Andrew Bogut grabbed 18 rebounds for the Bucks, who have lost eight of 11.
 
Thomas scored 10 points in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, and the Bulls used a 19-3 run to take a 46-29 lead with 1:58 left in the half. Kyle Korver drained a pair of 3-pointers and fellow reserve C.J. Watson added five points during the spurt.
 
A three-point play by Rose midway through the third pushed the advantage to 20 points before Milwaukee started to chip away. Douglas-Roberts scored 11 points the rest of the quarter to cut the deficit to 10 entering the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee couldn’t get closer than eight until the final minute.
 
 

• Chicago will play their next game at home against Orlando. The Bulls have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .733 after a loss.
• Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Bucks have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .385 after a loss.