Chicago,  IL  (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike  Dunleavy took Chandler Parsons' best 
shot, left the game in a bloody mess, but returned in the third quarter with a 
vengeance and buried the Rockets. 

Dunleavy  scored  18 of  his 21  points in  the third  quarter and boosted the 
Chicago Bulls to a 111-87 win over Houston Thursday night at United Center. 

With  7:54  left in  the second quarter,  Parsons drove into  the lane and his 
elbow collided with Dunleavy's face. Dunleavy, who held his ground to take the 
offensive foul, was forced off the court due to excessive bleeding. 

Dunleavy  received 10 stitches to close the wound and returned to the court to 
start  the  third quarter  and came  out on  fire. He  scored 10 points during 
Chicago's  20-2 run to open the period which expanded the lead to 70-44 midway 
through the quarter. 

For  the  period, Dunleavy went 7-of-11  from the field, including 3-of-4 from 
beyond  the arc,  and helped the Bulls  bounce back from a 104-96 home loss to 
the Spurs on Tuesday. 

"I  was  able to  get back here  quick enough.  They did a  pretty good job of 
stitching me up," Dunleavy said. "The doctor said I had thick skin." 

Joakim  Noah  narrowly missed a triple-double  with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 
nine assists for Chicago, which won for the 12th time in the last 16 contests. 
Kirk Hinrich scored 19, Carlos Boozer 18 and D.J. Augustin 13 for the Bulls. 

James  Harden was held to a season-low tying eight points for the Rockets, who 
have lost back-to-back contests following a five-game winning streak. It's the 
first  time Houston  has lost consecutive games since Jan. 24-25, both against 
Memphis. 

Jeremy  Lin led  the way with 21  points for the Rockets, who also received 12 
points,  10  rebounds and  four blocks  from Dwight  Howard. Houston shot 35.4 
percent, including a 5-of-26 showing from 3-point range. 

"We  did not come  out ready to play. I have no idea why," Rockets coach Kevin 
McHale  said. "If I knew I would stop it. We didn't do anything offensively or 
defensively to start the game." 

Boozer  scored 10 in the first quarter to carry the hosts to a 25-20 advantage 
after 12 minutes. The Rockets went 6-of-20 from the floor in the period. 

"We  feel the games  where we get off to good starts we're pretty successful," 
Hinrich said. 

Lin  had nine points in the second quarter, but the Bulls shot 58.8 percent in 
the stanza, helped by Augustin's 10 points on a 4-of-4 effort from the field. 

Two  free throws  from Howard closed Houston within 35-34 with 5:31 remaining, 
but  Chicago scored 10  of the next 12 points, buoyed by a pair of Augustin 3- 
pointers.  Hinrich's shot from beyond the arc in the closing seconds moved the 
hosts to a 50-42 edge at the break. 

The Bulls led by as many as 29 in the third and coasted in the fourth. 

                                   Game Notes 

Jimmy Butler scored 11 for the Bulls, who made half of their 86 shots and went 
14-of-24  from  beyond the arc ...  Houston had won the previous four meetings 
... Hinrich and Dunleavy combined to go 9-of-12 from 3-point range.