With Rose blooming, Bulls open season with emphatic win

AFP/New YorkThe Chicago Bulls welcomed former NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose back from injury Wednesday with a convincing 104-80 win over the New York Knicks. The return of Rose and the addition of Spanish veteran Pau Gasol have branded the Bulls as Eastern Conference contenders in 2014-15, and they looked the part at Madison Square Garden. “I wouldn’t say my rust is knocked off, but it’s getting there,” said Rose, who missed the final 71 games of last season with a torn meniscus after missing all of the previous campaign recovering from a torn knee ligament. “I can’t be content with how I’m performing,” he added. “I have to put it behind me whether it’s good or bad and make sure I stay consistent with my workouts. Physically, I feel good.” Both Rose and Gasol made key contributions. Rose—the 2011 NBA MVP—scored 13 points with five assists in his long awaited regular-season return and off-season acquisition Gasol putting up 21 points with 11 rebounds. Taj Gibson scored 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench for the Bulls, who connected on better than 50 percent of their shots from the field and effectively smothered the Knicks offence. In all the Bulls received 55 points from their reserves, with Aaron Brooks netting 13 and 2014 first-round draft pick Doug McDermott scoring 12 in his NBA debut. For New York, it was a disappointing start to the head coaching tenure of Derek Fisher, the former player drafted to implement the Phil Jackson triangle offence. Carmelo Anthony was held to 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting and the Knicks finished a lackluster 3-for-17 from three-point range. Amare Stoudemire was New York’s only other player to score in double figures, with 12 points to go with his eight rebounds. Rose acknowledged he was eager to get back on an NBA court for the first time since surgery last November, but said he wasn’t harbouring any unrealistic expectations for himself. “It’s still going to take some time,” he said. “I’m not worried about that. I might have some bad games here and there. But that’s not going to stop me from trying to be aggressive.” Heat sizzle without James The second night of the season saw Miami open their post-LeBron James era with a bang as Chris Bosh scored 26 points and 15 rebounds in the Heat’s 107-95 victory over Washington. Bosh, who saw his numbers dwindle in each of the four seasons that superstar James played for the Heat, inked a five-year $118 million deal in the offseason to stay in Miami, while James opted to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in his home state of Ohio. Turns out the Heat, who won two titles in four trips to the NBA finals in James’ four years in Miami, didn’t need “King James” to put on a show. Dwyane Wade scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter while Norris Cole added 23 and off-season acquisition Luol Deng of Britain scored 12 in his Miami debut. In other games: the short-handed Indiana Pacers overcame the loss of three injured starters to stop the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, 103-91; the Toronto Raptors clipped the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 109-102; the Denver Nuggets dropped the visiting Detroit Pistons, 89-79; and the visiting Golden State Warriors made Steve Kerr’s coaching debut a success after crowning the Sacramento Kings, 95-77.     Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points in his Phoenix debut, Marcus Morris had 21, including five triples, and Suns ran past the injury-decimated visiting Lakers in their season-opener despite Kobe Bryant’s 31 points.