CHICAGO – Presumably, with their ears still ringing, the Rockets did not need to hear Chris Paul reprise his call to arms that rallied the defense the night before. Another time-released defensive shutdown came again, this time even more thoroughly and decisively.
The turnaround was more extreme, with the Bulls barely escaping the indignity of the worst scoring quarter ever for a Rockets' opponent as the Rockets built a 17-point lead, their largest of the season, on the way to a 96-88 win to claim their first winning streak of the season.
As with the win the night before in Brooklyn, the Rockets grabbed control on the defensive end, with the Bulls going from making 64.