The Chicago Bulls defeated the Philadelphia 76ers tonight in Philadelphia 103 to 92 to finish up their circus trip.

The Bulls fell behind in the first quarter, but fought there way back in the 2nd quarter. The Bulls trailed by 3 points at the half.

During the second quarter, Derrick Rose made Andre Miller fall down when he crossed him over, breaking his ankles.

In the third quarter, Ben Gordon got hot, scoring 13 points (would have been 14 points if it wasn’t for a Derrick Rose lane violation on one of his free throws). After Gordon opened up a sizable lead for the Bulls, Derrick Rose blew it open with a spectacular finish to the third quarter, capping it off from an alley-oop dunk that was assisted by Ben Gordon. \

The Bulls outscored the 76ers 31 to 11 in the third, and entered the fourth with a seventeen point lead. Del Negro got a little reckless in his coaching when he took Rose and Gordon out of the game, allowing the 76ers to creep back in, but the Bulls hung on to win the game.

The Bulls backcourt duo was simply great today. Ben Gordon finished the game with 21 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds. Derrick Rose finished the game with 18 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. Having two guys who can take over the game at anytime makes the Bulls a really deadly team.

Drew Gooden also had a strong game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Gooden should be considered the Bulls third option, behind Rose and Gordon now. Gooden has averaged 19.4 points and 10.6 rebounds in the past 5 games. The Bulls were 3-2 in these 5 games. As long as the Bulls are getting third wheel production out of either Gooden or Deng, they will be a tough team to beat.

Luol Deng was pretty much a nonfactor in today’s game, but he by no means had a bad game, finishing with 8 points on 3-7 shooting in his return to the starting lineup. If Deng doesn’t start stepping it up soon, Paxson will need to begin exploring trade options before Deng loses all of his value.

Larry Hughes had 16 points in his new role as the Bulls’ sixth man. The 76ers left him open for three and Hughes made them pay by shooting 4-6 from three point land.

For the 76ers, Elton Brand had 21 points and 12 rebounds, but didn’t seem to have too much of an impact on the game.

Andre Iguodala only had 8 points on 3-9 shooting. The 76ers tried to post him up on Gordon early in the game, but that experiment failed.

Andre Miller had 15 points and 10 assists and Thaddeus Young had 17 points.

The Bulls finished the circus trip 3-4 and finish the month of November with a record of 8-9. This is a terrific start, given that the Bulls have had the toughest schedule in the NBA thus far, and also because Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon have been the only one’s who’ve had good all around months for the Bulls. Drew Gooden has been good as of late.

The Bulls will play the 76ers again on Tuesday at the United Center.

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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Bulls are planning on playing an exhibition game in London next preseason as part of the NBA’s Europe Live tour. Here is what the Chicago Tribune wrote:

Though the league office hasn’t released anything official, the Bulls are working under the assumption they’ll travel to at least London — home to the famous clock tower — next training camp as part of the NBA’s Europe Live. It will be the fourth year of the league’s overseas initiative.

It’s unknown whether the Bulls will travel to other cities or how many exhibition games they will play. Miami and New Jersey played against each other in both London and Paris in October 2008.

To honor Britain for granting his family political asylum from Sudan, Bulls forward Luol Deng earned his British citizenship in 2006 and has worked extensively trying to qualify British basketball for the 2012 London Olympics.

Through his father, Yannick, the former tennis star, Joakim Noah has ties to France. Also, Ben Gordon, an unrestricted free agent who may or may not be with the Bulls, was born in London.

The Bulls haven’t traveled overseas since playing in Paris in October 1997.

The trip will be good, as it will allow Luol Deng, and maybe Ben Gordon, who both might be playing for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympics to expand the popularity of the game in Great Britain. It could also just lead to worse starts to the season for Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, two guys who have struggled early on in the season in the past.

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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Larry Hughes will return to the bench. Luol Deng will return to the starting lineup.

Vinny Del Negro is making the move, to try to jumpstart Deng’s offense. Here is what Del Negro said on Deng:

“We have to get him going earlier,” Del Negro said. “He has to do a better job getting ready and being more aggressive. He has to be more consistent. I haven’t done a good job of helping him get involved early. I’m going to [emphasize] that. Luol is a big part of what we’re going to do and we need him to be productive.”

Against the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow, the Bulls will start Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Drew Gooden, and Joakim Noah.

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According to the morning report on Hoopsworld.com, Ben Gordon wants to remain a Bull, has always wished to stay with the Bulls, but the money is still an issue.

While the luxury tax was an issue in offering Gordon a contract next season, those problems are unlikely to come up again this offseason because of Drew Gooden’s expiring contract.

The Bulls real problem is finding their way into the picture for the 2010 free agency. Letting Drew Gooden walk in free agency, or signing him to a short, two year deal, is a given if the Bulls want to get into the mix in 2010.

After not giving Gooden a contract that is lasts more than three years, the Bulls next task is to play the trade markets. The Bulls have three players who will for sure be under contract in 2010 and those are, Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah. The Bulls will then probably look at trading Kirk Hinrich, and probably Nocioni as well.

The Bulls have a problem working towards creating cap space for 2010 if they cannot find a take for either Kirk Hinrich or Andres Nocioni. If the Bulls still have Andres Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich under contract next summer, John Paxson will have to decide whether to re-sign Gordon or not. Not re-signing Gordon would make the Bulls a less desirable destination for some of the 2010 free agents, while simultaneously flushing a third overall draft pick down the toilet. However, there are a host of players that are better than Gordon available, and if they were able to land one of them, it would make letting Gordon walk look brilliant. If they cannot land one of the superstars, the move could end up costing the Bulls, or making the free agent signing a lateral move.

If the Bulls re-sign Gordon with Hinrich and Nocioni still under contract, Paxson could go directions immediately. The first direction is to continue pursuing trades involving Hinrich and Nocioni, and try to get in the 2010 game. The second direction would be to sign a solid free agent like Shawn Marion to the MLE this summer, while the rest of the league is scared to spend money. No matter what direction the Bulls choose to take in this scenario, they would be able to leverage Larry Hughes expiring contract for something good. Going the first direction, a Hughes trade would be the result of the Bulls not finding a taker for Hinrich or Nocioni. Going the second direction, Paxson could proactively seek trades involving Hughes’ contract.

Nonetheless, it is good to hear that Gordon wants to remain a Bull. Hopefully Paxson can find a taker for Hinrich or Nocioni this season so the Bulls can avoid another scary summer when it comes to free agency in 2009.

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