The following night the Bulls were again in action, this time at home taking on the Charlotte Bobcats. Where in the previous game, Deng started on the bench, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro promoted him to the starting five. The GB Standard Life player responded with 12 points, seven rebounds and one assist during 37 minutes on court. Like the Washington game, Derrick Rose top scored with 26, two points more than the previous game.
The result leaves the Bulls still very much in the hunt for the 8th playoff place in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining. The critical game in this stretch will be against Pops Mensah Bonsu's old charges Toronto Raptors, who are also vying for the final playoff place, this game takes place on 11 April.
British born Ben Gordon was also in action, but his Detroit Pistons team continued their poor run which has seen them register a run of 11 defeats. The latest came against Phoenix Sun 94 - 109, Gordon scored 21 points, two rebounds and three assists and Atlanta Hawks 85 - 91, where Gordon wasn't able to get on the score sheet but did provide four assists. The result leaves the Pistons with a 23 - 53 record and means they are eliminated from playoff contention.
