LEAD: Rose fuels late charge, Deng hits game-winner, Bulls edge Hawks

By Paul Levine Jan 4, 2012, 8:04 GMT

Los Angeles - With reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose taking charge down the stretch, the Chicago Bulls refused to lose.

Luol Deng took a pass from Joakim Noah and hit the game-winning layup with 3.7 seconds left, as the Bulls rallied from a 19-point deficit for a dramatic 76-74 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

'Whether we're down or up 30, we've got guys who will always play hard,' Deng said following a 21-point outing.

After trailing 38-26 at half-time and by as 19 in the third quarter, the Bulls made their charge behind Rose.

The speedy All-Star guard erupted for 17 of his 30 points in the final stanza, including a driving layup off the glass over Josh Smith, putting Chicago ahead, 74-73 with 9.9 seconds left.

'I just have to take over sometimes,' Rose said. 'I'm just trying to win.'

Atlanta squared at 74-apiece, when Al Horford split two free throws with 7.7 seconds left, setting the stage for Deng's heroics.

Coming out of timeout and using Rose as a decoy, Noah took the ball on the right wing and found Deng cutting along the right side for the easy difference-maker.

'We knew they were going to overplay Derrick,' Deng said. 'They both went with him and Joakim made an unbelievable pass.'

Joe Johnson had a final shot to pull out the victory for the Hawks, but his three-point try missed badly at the buzzer, and the Bulls (5-1) escaped with their fourth straight win.

Horford scored 16 while Smith finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta (4-2), which was outscored 34-18 in the final quarter.

'We stopped defending with the intensity that we did in the first three quarters,' Hawks coach Larry Drew said of the collapse.

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 108, Houston Rockets 99: Kobe Bryant scored 37 points, while Andrew Bynum added 21 with 22 rebounds, and the Lakers pulled away from the visiting Rockets for their fourth win in the last five games.

Kyle Lowry collected 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Houston, while Argentine Luis Scola scored 20.

Cleveland Cavaliers 115, Charlotte Bobcats 101: Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Antawn Jamison had 19, and the Cavaliers rolled the visiting Bobcats for their third win in the last four games.

D J Augustin collected 26 points with nine assists in Charlotte's fourth straight loss.

Portland Trail Blazers 103, Oklahoma City Thunder 93: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points, Wesley Matthews added 16, and the visiting Trail Blazers (4-1) sent the Thunder to its second straight loss after opening the season 5-0.

James Harden led Oklahoma City with 23 points, while Kevin Durant finished with 19 on a miserable 8-of-26 field goal shooting.

Memphis Grizzlies 113, Sacramento Kings 96: Rudy Gay scored 23, reserve Sam Young had 20, and the Grizzlies bounced back from a 40-point drubbing by the Bulls on Sunday, to crush the visiting Kings.

Rookie Jimmer Fredette tossed in 17 points for Sacramento, which fell for the fourth time in five games.

Utah Jazz 85, Milwaukee Bucks 73: Al Jefferson scored 26 points, and the Jazz bounced the short-handed Bucks, who were without centre Andrew Bogut for personal reasons.

Drew Gooden had 24 points and 12 rebounds for visiting Milwaukee, which shot a frosty 31 per cent from the field.