Chicago at Milwaukee

[Real Deal]

TIME: 8:30 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Built Ford Tough]

MILWAUKEE -- Derrick Rose knows how important Luol Deng is to the Chicago Bulls.

 

Rose scored 26 points and had 13 assists and Deng added 21 points in his return after missing seven games due to injury, as the Chicago Bulls easily beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-90 Saturday night.

 

"He makes the game easy," Rose said of his teammate. "He makes everybody comfortable out there. It feels good when we have all our leaders out there."

 

Playing before a sellout Bradley Center crowd that seemed to be filled with more fans rooting for the Bulls, Deng scored on a layup from Rose just 76 seconds into the game.

 

The Bucks trailed by 24 at halftime and never threatened in the second half, resting all five starters in the fourth quarter.

 

Deng was averaging 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds before tearing a ligament in his left wrist Jan. 21 against Charlotte. He consulted with doctors before deciding against surgery, and his initial return against the Bucks appeared promising.

 

"He got out there and did everything," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said.

 

The veteran forward made 9 of 19 shots and had nine rebounds in 41 minutes.

 

"I felt it, [and] I'm going to feel it," he said of the wrist injury. "As the game goes on, I forgot about it. I really was cautious at the start of the game. As the game went on, just playing basketball, I didn't really think about it until I fell [in the fourth quarter]."

 

Deng iced the wrist for several minutes after the game, but said doctors told him he couldn't make the injury any more severe by playing.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120204_CHI@MIL