http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/13/sports/basketball/derrick-rose-shows-old-form-as-bulls-top-trail-blazers.html 2014-12-13 06:01:30 Derrick Rose Shows Old Form as Bulls Top Trail Blazers Derrick Rose scored 31 points for Chicago, the first time he has topped 30 since March 2012. === Derrick Rose scored a season-high 31 points, and the Rose, who tore the meniscus in his right knee while playing against the Blazers last season, surpassed his previous high of 24 points and scored more than 30 for the first time since March 12, 2012. He was 14 of 24 from the floor for the Bulls, who have won three of four and improved to 4-5 at United Center. Chicago ended a seven-game losing streak against Portland. The Bulls’ Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double and his 14th of the season. The rookie Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Aaron Brooks scored 17 points for the Bulls, whose bench outscored Portland’s by 40-15. LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard each scored 35 points for Portland. WIZARDS 104, CLIPPERS 96 Wall’s effect was greater than his statistics line indicated. He turned the game with a wild sequence late in the first half: an acrobatic assist on a Bradley Beal 3-pointer, a 3-pointer of his own, a from-behind block of a Glen Davis shot in the lane and a takeaway when he poked the ball with his left hand and deflected it out of bounds off Paul’s leg. The Wizards closed the half with a 12-2 run to lead by 57-42 and did not allow the gap to fall below 8 points in the second half, during which Wall poked the ball loose from Paul for another turnover. RAPTORS 106, PACERS 94 James Johnson had 13 points, Patrick Patterson had 11, and Grevis Vasquez scored 7 of his 10 in the fourth quarter as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors began a series of six games against teams with losing records. Toronto is 10-1 against sub-.500 teams, the only loss coming to the Lakers in overtime in Los Angeles on Nov. 30. Solomon Hill scored 16 points, C. J. Watson and Rodney Stuckey each had 13, and David West had 12 for the Pacers, whose seven-game skid is their longest since an eight-game streak in December 2009. Luis Scola opened the fourth quarter with two free throws, cutting the Pacers’ deficit to 80-74. Toronto answered with a 9-0 run, including 7 straight points from Vazquez, to lead by 89-74 with 9 minutes 52 seconds remaining, ending Indiana’s hopes of recording its first win since Nov. 28 against Orlando. HAWKS 87, MAGIC 81 The streak is Atlanta’s longest since it opened the 1997-98 season with 11 victories. Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, and Evan Fournier added 18 for the Magic, who have lost four of their last six games. Jeff Teague, who had 13 points for the Hawks, hit two free throws with 10.5 seconds left to put Atlanta up by 85-81 and all but end Orlando’s hopes. The Magic took their biggest lead, at 12 points, on a 3-point play by Kyle O’Quinn midway through the third quarter, but Atlanta went on a 20-7 run to go up by 65-54 early in the fourth on an Elton Brand free throw. SPURS’ LEONARD SITS OUT Leonard, a member of the all-defensive second team last season, missed his second straight game with a bruised right hand. PELICANS LOSE DAVIS Davis played for only seven minutes, scoring 8 points and grabbing a rebound, before he appeared to take an elbow to the chest while jostling for position during a free throw.