Rockets emerge from back-and-forth battle with win over Bulls

Jalen Green scored a game-high 28 points, helping lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-114 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points and seven assists, as Houston (43-25) won its sixth straight game. Dillon Brooks' 13 points and Jabari Smith Jr.'s 12 rounded out the balanced scoring night for the Rockets' starters.

Chicago (28-39) had its four-game winning streak snapped, despite Coby White's 23 points and Tre Jones' 19. Nikola Vucevic chipped in 15 points in the loss.

After trailing 65-60 at halftime, Houston opened the second half with an 8-2 run -- including three baskets from Sengun.

Sengun later made a pair of free throws to give the Rockets a 75-72 advantage, before White and Vucevic's baskets swung the lead to Chicago.

Dalen Terry's third trey in as many attempts gave the Bulls an 83-81 edge at the 2:15 mark of the third, but Sengun and Smith made consecutive baskets to send the Rockets into the final quarter with a two-point lead.

Houston doubled its cushion to four on Jae'Sean Tate's lone 3-pointer at the 8:35 mark of the fourth. Patrick Williams' jumper then began a 5-0 Bulls' spree to grab a one-point lead, 98-97.

Green's triple then stamped a 10-2 Houston run, before Sengun's hook shot gave the Rockets a 114-107 lead with just under a minute left. White's two free throws followed by Vucevic's triple pulled the Bulls within 114-112 with 37 seconds remaining, before Green's layup with 14 seconds left iced Houston's win.

Chicago connected on seven 3-pointers in the opening quarter and led 29-22 entering the second.

After VanVleet's pullup jumper cut the Rockets' deficit to 35-31, White and Jones' back-to-back buckets doubled the Bulls' advantage to 39-31 at the 7:30 mark of the second quarter.

With just over five minutes left, Jones' split a pair of free throws to give Chicago a six-point edge. From there, Jeff Green's dunk and Jalen Green's five straight points swung the lead to Houston.

The Bulls then answered the Rockets' spurt with an 18-7 run, before VanVleet's personal 5-0 run to end first half cut Houston's halftime deficit to five.

--Field Level Media