
Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 22 points, including a clutch field goal with 32 seconds to play that gave Chicago a 104-102 lead.
Ron Artest powered the Rockets with a season-high 32 points but Houston did not score after his three-pointer gave them a 102-95 lead with 2:16 to play.
"I'm proud our guys hung in," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro told reporters. "It was a great win for us against a Houston team as good as any we've played with their size and shooting."
The Rockets held a 99-82 advantage with slightly less than six minutes to go but were outscored 23-3 by the Bulls.
Chicago reeled off 13 consecutive points to edge within four before Artest hit his three-pointer -- Houston's only field goal for the game's last 5:51. The Bulls then went on a 10-0 run to seal the win.
"I liked our toughness. I liked our attitude," Del Negro said.
Tyrus Thomas added 19 points for the Bulls, Ben Gordon had 16, John Salmons 12 and Brad Miller 11. Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Houston's Yao Ming backed up Artest with 17 points and Luis Scola had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Artest, who missed a three-pointer with 11 seconds to play, took the blame for the loss.
"There were things I could have done to help us sustain the lead we had," he told reporters. "We made a lot of progress, we just had a bad fourth quarter."
Houston coach Rick Adelman was more than willing to agree with that.
"The fourth quarter we were awful," he told reporters. "We swung the ball and we were going to attack the other side and we didn't do it. We got very, very non-aggressive. Two things happened; we didn't score and we didn't stop them."
NBA STANDINGS on Saturday.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. Boston 47 13 .783 - 2. Philadelphia 29 29 .500 17 3. New Jersey 26 32 .448 20 4. NY Knicks 24 35 .407 22 1/2 5. Toronto 23 37 .383 24 CENTRAL DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. Cleveland 45 12 .789 - 2. Detroit 28 29 .491 17 3. Milwaukee 29 33 .468 18 1/2 4. Chicago 27 33 .450 19 1/2 5. Indiana 25 36 .410 22 SOUTHEAST DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. Orlando 43 16 .729 - 2. Atlanta 33 25 .569 9 1/2 3. Miami 31 27 .534 11 1/2 4. Charlotte 25 35 .417 18 1/2 5. Washington 14 45 .237 29 WESTERN CONFERENCE NORTHWEST DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. Denver 39 20 .661 - 2. Portland 36 22 .621 2 1/2 3. Utah 36 23 .610 3 4. Minnesota 18 40 .310 20 1/2 5. Oklahoma City 14 45 .237 25 PACIFIC DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. LA Lakers 48 11 .814 - 2. Phoenix 33 25 .569 14 1/2 3. Golden State 20 38 .345 27 1/2 4. LA Clippers 15 45 .250 33 1/2 5. Sacramento 13 48 .213 36 SOUTHWEST DIVISION
W L PCT GB 1. San Antonio 39 18 .684 - 2. Houston 37 22 .627 3 3. New Orleans 35 22 .614 4 4. Dallas 35 23 .603 4 1/2 5. Memphis 15 43 .259 24 1/2
NBA RESULTS on Saturday (home team in CAPS) Orlando 106 PHILADELPHIA 100 MIAMI 120 NY Knicks 115 Oklahoma City 99 MEMPHIS 92 CHICAGO 105 Houston 102 MILWAUKEE 109 Washington 93 UTAH 102 Sacramento 89 Charlotte 100 LA CLIPPERS 95
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