The Bulls have had a difficult time putting away lesser opponents lately, and the bad habit nearly jumped up and bit them again on Saturday. Derrick Rose scored 24 points, leading the Bulls to a 92-79 victory that extended the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ losing streak to 16 games.Cleveland (8-35) has also lost 20 straight on the road, one shy of the franchise record. The Cavs last won away from Quicken Loans Arena on Nov. 9, with a 93-91 victory over New Jersey. They haven’t won anywhere since a home win over the Knicks on Dec. 18.Even though it turned out to be another Cleveland loss, coach Byron Scott was pleased by his team’s effort – to a degree.Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng scored 20 points apiece for the BullsChicago, who blew most of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before pulling away again. Kyle Korver, who scored 11 points.Cleveland held the Bulls to four points in the first 7:02 of the fourth quarter, closing within two on a runner by Antawn Jamison with 4:37 to play. The Bulls didn’t make a field goal in the period until Rose’s layup with 4:20 left.Rose was fouled on the play and his free throw for a 80-75 lead. One possession later, Korver hit his third 3-pointer of the game, pushing the lead to eight points.Boozer’s three-point play and Rose’s jumper pushed the run to 11-0. Cleveland got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.The Bulls stand third in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Miami Heat, but have lost games to the Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and two games to the Charlotte Bobcats over the last few weeks. All those teams have losing records and in each contest, the Bulls were in position to put the game away before letting their opponent back in the game.Jamison led the Cavaliers with 31 points and 11 rebounds.Cleveland lost 21 straight on the road from Jan. 13 to April 4, 2003. The Cavaliers ended up with the first pick in the draft that year after winning the NBA lottery. They used that selection to take LeBron James, the subject of so much scorn in Cleveland these days.Cleveland’s next game is Monday at New Jersey. The Cavaliers have lost 26 of their last 27 games since starting the season 7-9.The Bulls took a quick 12-2 lead before Cleveland closed within two late in the first period. Deng hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter, putting his team up 22-17.That turned out to be the start of a 17-2 run for the Bulls. The punchless Cavaliers started both the second and third periods by missing their first seven shots.The winners led by as many 20 points, but the Cavaliers mounted a rally in the second half of the third quarter, closing within seven points. But Rose hit a layup and Deng made his fourth 3-pointer, putting the Bulls up 72-60.Boozer returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. He was 8 for 18 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds.The Bulls lead the NBA in opponent field-goal percentage and the Cavaliers didn’t do any harm to the Bulls ranking in that category. Cleveland shot 27 for 84 (32.1 percent) for the game.Despite the poor shooting, the Cavaliers were able to climb back into the game thanks to their performance on the boards. Cleveland grabbed 18 offensive rebounds in the game and held a 15-5 edge in second-chance points.J.J. Hickson led the way with 20 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end.Scott shook up the Cavaliers’ starting lineup, inserting Daniel Gibson and Christian Eyenga in place of Alonzo Gee and Manny Harris.Cavaliers guard Anthony Parker stayed behind in Cleveland to receive treatment for a lower back strain and missed Saturday’s game. Parker aggravated the injury in the Cavaliers’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.The injury-ravaged Cavaliers started the game without Parker, Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams and Leon Powe. They then lost starting point guard Ramon Sessions in the second quarter with a right abdominal strain.Despite the injuries and the weight of 15 consecutive losses weighing on them, the Cavaliers nearly knocked off one of the East’s elite clubs.

NOTES—The Cavaliers are now 0-13 when shooting under 40 percent from the floor this season. … The Bulls improved to 30-14 on the season…..The Bulls didn’t win their 30th game until Feb. 24 last season. The Bulls are a perfect 9-0 against the Central Division…..The biggest oar of the night from the home crowd at the United Center came between the third and fourth quarters, when Bears mascot “Staley Da Bear” ran onto the court to help “Bennie the Bull” throw some footballs into the stands. The Bears host the Green Bay Packers in the widely-anticipated NFC Championship at Soldier Field on Sunday……The Bulls played their 20th game since starting center Joakim Noah went down with a torn ligament in his right hand. They have gone 14-6 in his absence.