CAREER HIGH AS DENG BLAZES PORTLAND - Hoopsfix.com

CAREER HIGH AS DENG BLAZES PORTLAND

Luol Deng dropped a career high 40 points on the Portland Trailblazers last night. The GB forward shot a blistering 14 of 19 from the field as the Bulls dealt Portland their first loss of the season.

Lu’s previous career best of 38 points, in March 2007, was also against the Trailblazers. But he doesn’t think Portland has any sort of “Deng jinx”.

“I think it’s just a coincidence,” he said after the game. “We just shot the ball well. We moved it and shot it well.

”When I got 39, the guys on the bench said there was no way I was gonna get 40,” he added. ”Then I went to the line and missed the first free throw and I thought it was about to happen. But I made the second.”

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was impressed: “He played well because of all the things that he’s doing,” he said. ”He’s moving without the ball, he’s cutting hard, he’s making the extra pass and he’s playing really good defense.

”Tonight he was really terrific offensively. His body was in motion and he got out and ran the floor well.”

The Bulls dominated the game from early. After opening an 11-point lead in the first quarter (behind 16 from Deng), Portland never got closer than seven for the rest of the game.

It wasn’t just Deng (who also had 4 boards, 2 assists and a steal) who was on form…the Bulls, as a team, shot 60%.

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