Chicago 88, Boston 79

Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Luol Deng had 21 points and 16 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls register an 88-79 victory over the host Boston Celtics on Friday.

Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer added 12 points apiece for Chicago (11-2), which built a 19-point halftime lead en route to its fourth consecutive victory. The Bulls have the best record in the NBA and are 7-2 on the road.

Ray Allen scored 16 and Rajon Rondo had 14 and 11 assists for Boston (4-6), which has lost three straight.

Chicago was cruising with a 61-41 lead after Deng’s basket with 7:18 left in the third quarter. Boston responded with a 25-6 surge and pulled within 67-66 on a 3-pointer by Mickael Pietrus two minutes into the fourth.

But Rose scored seven straight Chicago points to give the Bulls a 74-68 advantage with 7:30 to play and later connected on a 3-pointer to give Chicago an 80-71 lead with 4:59 remaining. Deng’s 3-pointer gave the Bulls a 12-point lead with 1:29 to play.

Rose played 39-plus minutes and had seven assists returned from a one-game absence due to a toe injury. Joakim Noah added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Boston’s Paul Pierce scored 13 but hit just 3 of 12 shots.

Chicago held Boston to 13 first-quarter points and led 52-33 at halftime. Boston made just five of its first 26 shots and shot 33.3 percent in the first half.

• Boston will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Celtics have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .200 after a loss.
• Chicago will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Bulls have a W/L % of .818 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.