Rose and the Bulls Extend Win Streak to 8, While Ending Deron Williams and Nets' Streak at 5 Games; Retake 1st Place in East

NEWARK, NJ. Before Chicago's coming out party against the Miami Heat earlier this month and then taking over first place in the Eastern Conference with their win over the Washington Wizards two nights ago, it looked to be the type of game against an underrated New Jersey Nets team that the Bulls might experience a letdown.

And after dominating for 3 quarters, the Chicago Bulls looked like they just might let the game get away as the Nets stormed back in the 4th quarter in front of their home crowd. But this is not the Chicago Bulls of last year or even earlier this season.

This is the Chicago Bulls team that Jordan touted as "Title Ready" and worthy of comparisons to the 1991 NBA Championship Chicago Bulls team that he led.

So when the Nets tied the game up at 69 - 69 with 4:35 remaining, the Bulls. as a team, put their game in another gear to finish off on a 15 - 4 run to win 84 - 73 and retake sole possession of 1st place in the Eastern Conference.

DRose made another MVP statement by holding Deron Williams to 1 of 12 shooting and only 5 points.

Derrick Rose did not have a great offensive game in the win, but did his work on the defensive end, shutting down new Nets star point guard, Deron Williams. Rose managed 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and had two big blocks on the night. With the great defense by Rose, DWill finished with only 5 points, on 1 of 12 shooting, along with 11 assists.

Omer Asik was the Bulls player of the night, putting in 11 points and pulling down 16 boards and had 2 blocks in just 25 minutes, once again rewarding the Bulls for their choice to hold on to the Turkish big man rather than trading him in a package for a shooting guard at the trade deadline.

Asik is an asset that will come in handy against the likes of Orlando, Boston, San Antonio, or Los Angeles as the Bulls look forward to making a deep playoff run this post-season.