National Basketball Association

Bulls 95, Rockets 92

Published Nov. 17, 2010 5:31 a.m. ET

foxsports

Derrick Rose had seen enough.

Benched because of foul trouble in the third quarter, Rose watched the Chicago Bulls lose their lead to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

He was back on the floor to start the fourth, and from there, the Rockets didn't stand a chance.

Rose scored 17 of his 33 points in the final quarter and the Bulls opened their seven-game road trip with a 95-92 victory.

''Whatever it takes for my team to win,'' Rose said, ''I'm going to try to go out there and do it.''

The star point guard also had seven assists, and Luol Deng added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who won their fourth straight overall and earned their first victory in three road games this season.

Rose sat out the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul, and the Rockets built a 71-63 lead.

''It was so frustrating,'' Rose said. ''I knew I had to sit out, but I was just hoping we could keep it close. That's when they put me back in the game, and I guess I did what I was supposed to do.''

Rose came into the game shooting just 24 percent from 3-point range, but he hit two 3s at the beginning of an 18-0 Chicago spurt. The Rockets were conceding long-range shots to Rose.

''You want him taking 3s and you've just got to live and die by it,'' Houston guard Kevin Martin said. ''We died by it at the beginning of the fourth.''

Houston fueled the Bulls' rally with four turnovers and six straight misses in the first four minutes of the last quarter. Rose swished another 3-pointer with 7:37 left to finish the run and give the Bulls their biggest lead, 81-71.

''I thought we played great up until the start of the fourth,'' forward Shane Battier said. ''We just came out and they hit some tough shots. Give Derrick Rose a lot of credit.''

Luis Scola scored 27 points and former Bull Brad Miller added 21 for the Rockets, who've lost their last four meetings with Chicago after winning 11 of the previous 12.

The Bulls went 15 for 28 from the free throw line, but hit 6-of-8 attempts in the final minute to hold off Houston.

Chicago took advantage of Yao Ming's absence inside to outrebound Houston 40-32. Yao sat out for the third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

That just made things easier for Rose, who repeatedly drove into the lane for layups or found teammates open underneath for easy baskets.

''He attacks the basket, and when he attacks the basket, he is very difficult to guard,'' Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The Rockets cut the Bulls' lead to three with just over a minute to play. Rose missed a layup in traffic, but Kyle Lowry missed a fadeaway at the other end and Chicago rebounded.

The Bulls missed 11 of their first 20 free throws, but Joakim Noah calmly sank a pair with 22 seconds left to stretch Chicago's lead to 91-86.

Scola scored inside before Deng put it away with two free throws with 13 seconds left.

''It's a great way to start the trip,'' Noah said.

The Rockets, meanwhile, slipped to 3-7, the third-worst record in the West.

They led by seven early, but when both teams went to their benches in the second quarter, the Bulls mounted a 12-2 spurt. Rose returned with 6:03 left in the half and the score tied 32-all.

Rose assisted on baskets by Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson in the final minute of the half to put Chicago up 49-41 at the break.

Rose had 10 points and five assists in the first half. Scola had 13 points in the half to lead Houston.

Chicago missed its first five shots out of halftime, and the Rockets cut the deficit to two. The Bulls led 60-57 when Rose left with his fourth foul with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

The Bulls unraveled without Rose on the floor, going 1 for 6 and committing five turnovers over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the quarter.

Notes: Referees took away two baskets by Lowry in the fourth quarter after checking instant replay and ruling that he didn't beat the shot clock on either of them. ... Bulls G Kyle Korver made both of his 3-point attempts is now 14-for-23 on the season. ... Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... The Rockets initially said Yao was expected to miss a week, but coach Rick Adelman said before the game that he didn't know when the seven-time All-Star center would return.