Mon, 12/21 Bulls vs Kings

CHICAGO -- Tyreke Evans and the Sacramento Kings pulled off an incredible comeback, rallying from 35 points down in the second half to stun the Chicago Bulls 102-98 on Monday night.

The Bulls led 79-44 with 8:50 left in the third quarter and were still up 83-50 two minutes later before the Kings began dominating every facet of the game.

Luol Deng entered Monday's game having averaged 22 points and 10.3 rebounds in his previous three.

That would be impressive in any circumstance, but those numbers are even more so considering this: Deng is playing with a fractured left thumb.

The Bulls first disclosed the injury Monday, more than a week after it happened during practice. The tiny fracture is near the top of the thumb, and Deng is wearing tape to protect it.

Though the injury isn't on Deng's shooting hand, it's causing considerable pain.

Evans ran back excitedly to the huddle as a timeout was called by the Bulls, Evans cupping his two hands below his waist in a provocative suggestion that he is a big time player.

Fit For A King

With 8:50 remaining in the the third quarter, the Kings looked down and out. But a funny thing happened the rest of the way. Here's a look at Sacramento's improbable closing run:

Before the Run -35 (Margin) / 15-43 Field goals / 5-14 3-point FG / 9-11 Free throws
Rest of Game +39 (Margin) / 21-39 Field goals / 6-9 3-point FG / 10-15 Free throws

It was 79-44 Bulls. It was still 81-48 Bulls with eight minutes left in the third when Rose lobbed to Noah for a dunk. Everyone was up and partying.

The Bulls were outscored 52-15 in the next 20 minutes. At home.

“We stopped being aggressive in the third quarter,” said Del Negro. “It got contagious. And in the fourth quarter we couldn’t get any stops when we had to. We went cold. We wanted to attack the basket. We didn’t play together. One pass and a shot. We’re not good enough to take a minute off never mind a half