Called the “best wide receiver in Chicago” the past few yearsm Jeff Samardzija dominated into the ninth, outpitching Jordan Zimmermann, and the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 Sunday for their first win of the Theo Epstein era.Samardzija was simply spectacular in his sixth career start, allowing four hits and an earned run. He struck out eight without a walk as the Cubs shook off two wrenching losses to start the season.There were no bullpen meltdowns this time after Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol failed to hold late leads in each of the first two games, but there was still some drama in the ninth.Ryan Zimmerman reached when Starlin Castro bounced the throw to first after fielding a two-out grounder to shortstop. Samardzija stayed in after a visit from manager Dale Sveum, and Adam LaRoche drilled his second two-run homer in as many games, sending a drive to the seats in right that cut it to 4-3.Marmol came in and walked Jayson Werth before Xavier Nady fouled out to Castro near the third base dugout to end the game for his first save.Alfonso Soriano drove in two runs, with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and run-scoring single off Zimmerman (0-1) in the sixth to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead after Washington tied it in the top half.Castro had two hits, scored twice and stole two bases. He doubled in a run off Ryan Mattheus and scored on Ian Stewart’s single in an two-run eighth, sending the Northsiders to their first win under the new regime.They didn’t get much off Zimmermann, who held them to two runs — one earned — and six hits before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth. With the Cubs being aggressive or impatient, he threw just 80 pitches and did not walk a batter, but the Nationals came up short after pulling out two dramatic wins.Samardzija, primarily a reliever for four seasons, gave up a double by Ian Desmond to start the game but didn’t allow another hit until Wilson Ramos led off the sixth with a single. He came around on Danny Espinosa’s sacrifice fly.

NOTES—Sveum got a few reminders about his memorable Easter Sunday homer 25 years ago for the Brewers against Kansas City – a game-ending shot that capped a 6-4 comeback win and put Milwaukee at 12-0. The Brewers went on to tie a major league record by winning their first 13 games. “I actually forgot all about it until I got a few texts from the clubbies out in Milwaukee,” Sveum said. He spent the previous six seasons on Milwaukee’s coaching staff and will see his former team when the Brewers open a four-game series at Wrigley Field on Monday. … Shaun Marcum starts Monday for Milwaukee against the Cubs’ Chris Volstad, who came from Miami in the Carlos Zambrano deal. … The Nationals open a three-game series at the Mets on Monday, with Edwin Jackson making his Washington

ROSEMONT—New faces for the Kansas City Command offense were given no time to get acclimated as the Chicago Rush sped along to a 69-40 victory in front of 5,854 fans at Allstate Arena.All the Rush needed was the ability to get the ball. A seven-minute opening drive by the Command gave Kansas City their only lead of the night. Recently acquired QB Matt Gutierrez began the game completing five of seven passes, connecting with WR Syvelle Newton for a seven-yard touchdown pass to take the early lead 6-0.From there, the air raid began. QB Russ Michna would only need eight minutes and forty-two seconds of the first half to throw six touchdown passes. WR Jared Perry would be his first target, hitting him on a 16-yard pass that came directly after Perry deflected away a would-be interception. Perry would go on to finish the night leading the team in receiving with 10 receptions for 175 yards and 5 touchdowns. WR Reggie Graywouldn’t be far behind totaling 7 catches for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“All of our wide receivers have their own unique strengths and that’s exactly what makes them dangerous as a whole. I beg (Head Coach Bob McMillen) every week to activate all four,” QB Russ Michna stated.

The quick strike offense gave way to an opportunistic Rush defense that limited the Command offense to five scoring drives on thenight. Halting their offensive chances were five Kansas City drives that wouldn’t go further than twenty yards.LB Kelvin Morris would get his third interception on the season and DB Vic Hall grabbed his first of 2012 by denying a Command touchdown in the second quarter. All in all it would create a run of 35 unanswered points building a 42-13 halftime advantage.Coming out of the locker room, QB Russ Michna would continue the quick strikes hitting WR Jared Perry on his fourth touchdown one minute and forty-eight seconds into the 2nd half. A 23-yard touchdown delivery to WR Reggie Gray one possession later would be Michna’s last throw of the evening. Michna finished the game 17-20 for 311 yards, 7 TD and no interceptions.Rush DB Vic Hall would add 7 tackles to his AFL leading total. DT Derek Walker would chase down QB Matt Gutierrez for a sack, pushing his total to two for the season. Newly assigned Rush QB Luke Drone would capitalize on Michna’s early exit, completing 5-7 passes for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns.Recently assigned WR Bradly Chavez, who finished with 9 catches for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns, paced the Kansas City offensive attack on way to being named the AFL Playmaker of the Game. Command QB Matt Gutierrez finished the game 23-39 for 258 yards, 5 TD and 2 INT.With their fourth straight victory the Rush head to Atlanta next week to take on Georgia aiming for a franchise best 5-0 start.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game – CHI QB Russ Michna
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game – CHI DB Vic Hall
JLS Ironman of the Game – CHI FB/LB Kelvin Morris
AFL Playmaker of the Game – KC Bradly Chavez
Cutters Catch of the Game – CHI WR Reggie Gray 23-yard touchdown catch
Spalding Highlight of the Game – KC J.C. Neal 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown (3rd Q – 1:38)
National Guard MVP – CHI WR Jared Perry

ARLINGTON—Alex Rios led off the ninth inning with a home run and the White Sox got their first win for new manager Robin Ventura, beating the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers 4-3 on Saturday night.Rios homered off new Rangers closer Joe Nathan (0-1) who got a save with a perfect inning in the season opener a day earlier but entered a tie game this time.The homer to Rios cleared the eight-foot wall in center field just out of the reach of leaping center fielder Josh Hamilton.Paul Konerko drove in three runs for the White Sox in his 2,000th career game.Matt Thornton (1-0) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth after coming back from a 3-0 count against Mike Napoli, who grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice. Hector Santiago, a 24-year-old rookie left-hander in his third major league game, worked a perfect ninth for his first major league save.Both starting pitchers, Derek Holland and Jake Peavy, struck out five while giving up three runs over six innings.Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young winner, hadn’t started since last Sept. 6. The right-hander was shut down for the rest of the season after going 7-7 in his comeback from shoulder surgery in 2010.Holland made his first start since getting a new $28.5 million, five-year contract from Texas last month. That deal goes through 2016 and includes two club options after that.The 25-year-old left-hander finished last season allowing only two hits in 8 1-3 scoreless innings in Game 4 of the World Series against St. Louis at Rangers Ballpark, but the White Sox got on the board in a hurry against Holland. Alejandro De Aza led off the game with a single, stole second and came home on a two-out single by Konerko.De Aza reached in the third when Holland was charged with an error after dropping a comebacker, but the speedy center fielder was promptly picked off first base. Holland walked the next two batters before Konerko’s two-run double made it 3-1. The Rangers got even in the bottom of the third when Ian Kinsler had a leadoff triple, after De Aza dove for the ball that scooted past his glove toward the wall. Elvis Andrus then had an RBI single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Beltre.Napoli had an RBI single in the second.

NOTES—Konerko has played all but 81 of his games with the White Sox in his 15-year career. … Lefty Matt Harrison, 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox, makes his 2012 debut for the Rangers in Sunday’s finale. …Gavin Floyd, who starts for the Sox on Sunday night, allowed only two runs (one earned) and six hits over 14 innings in his two starts against Texas last season. … 1B/OF Brad Hawpe, released by the Rangers late in spring training, has signed a minor league deal with the organization and assigned to Double-A Frisco. He is rebuilding arm strength in a return from left elbow surgery last August. … Texas players and staff were presented their 2011 American League championship rings, 48 in all, before the game.

Adam LaRoche homered and matched a career high with four hits, and the Washington Nationals again rallied late against Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol, scoring five runs in the eighth to beat the Cubs 7-4 on Saturday.LaRoche drove a two-run shot off Matt Garza in the fourth. The Cubs chased Gio Gonzalez with three in the bottom half to go up 4-2. But Washington sent up 11 batters in the eighth and hammered Wood (0-1) and Marmol again after they faltered in a 2-1 loss on Thursday.Danny Espinosa started the winning rally with a two-out solo homer to left in the eighth on the 10th pitch he saw from Wood, who walked three straight to force in the tying run in the opener.Marmol came on after back-to-back singles by Ryan Zimmerman and LaRoche but fared no better after taking the loss on Thursday. He immediately walked Jayson Werth to load the bases before giving up a two-run single to Chad Tracy, putting Washington up 5-4. Roger Bernardina then doubled in Werth, and Marmol left to loud boos after Wilson Ramos walked.Shawn Camp then gave up an RBI infield single to Stephen Lombardozzi, who led off the inning with a ground out, before retiring Ian Desmond on a fly to right to end the inning.Ryan Mattheus (1-0) got the win. Henry Rodriguez struck out three in the ninth, and four relievers combined to shut out the Cubs over the final 5 1/3 innings after Gonzalez struggled.An All-Star and 16-game winner last season, he gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.Matt Garza pitched five-hit ball over six innings, but Wood and Marmol wasted another solid start after Ryan Dempster shut down Washington in the opener.

“It’s been two games,” Marmol said. “You can’t be frustrated.”

While Marmol asked for patience, Garza defended his teammates.One thing that did bother him was LaRoche’s homer halfway up the right-field foul pole to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead, and Garza vented in the dugout between innings. He was angry at himself for missing his spot with that pitch.LaRoche’s big day certainly was a good sign for the Nationals, considering he hit just .172 with three homers in 43 games last year before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left shoulder after signing with Washington. How well he rebounds could go a long way toward determining if this team makes the playoffs.The Nationals believe they have enough pitching, but the offense is a bit of a question mark.

NOTES—Bryan LaHair, who pinch hit for Garza, was out of the lineup for the second straight game because of a minor back issue. He is expected to start on Sunday. Jeff Baker got the nod at first again in his place….The Cubs selected veteran right-hander Rodrigo Lopez’s contract from Triple-A Iowa and outrighted infielder Luis Valbuena to the minor league club….Nationals 1B-OF Michael Morse traveled to New York Saturday for back treatment and is expected to return to Double-A Harrisburg to finish his rehab. Morse is eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on April 10 while the Nationals are visiting the New York Mets….Jordan Zimmermann starts Sunday for Washington, with Jeff Samardzija pitching for the Cubs. Zimmermann was 8-11 with a 3.18 ERA in 26 starts in his first year back from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow before getting shut down. This will be the sixth career start for Samardzija after spending four seasons in the bullpen.

Luol Deng scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and Joakim Noah added 17 points and nine rebounds to rally the Bulls to a 93-86 victory against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Bulls again played without Derrick Rose, out due to a strained groin for the 12th consecutive game. The Cubs, who have been without Rose for 22 games this season, improved to 15-7 in his absence — including 8-4 during the latest stretch. The Bulls rallied from 13 points down in the first half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to end its first two-game losing streak of the season. Trailing by 11 at halftime, the Bulls outscored Boston 55-37 after the break. Paul Pierce scored 22 points for Boston, who has lost two in a row after a winning a season-high five straight. Pierce had only one point in the fourth quarter. Rose, who last played March 12 in a victory against New York, was a game-time decision after practicing on Wednesday. He took contact for the first time since the injury and afterwards was optimistic he will be able to play against the Knicks on Sunday.Leading 74-73 in the fourth, Taj Gibson and Deng had back-to-back baskets, and after Avery Bradley’s steal and layup for Boston, Kyle Korver made a 3 to give his team a 81-75 lead with about 7 minutes remaining.Later in the quarter, Deng had eight points during a 10-4 run that was capped by Carlos Boozer’s dunk to put the Bulls up 91-81 with 1:42 left.The Celtics gave the Bulls a little scare in the final two minutes. Rajon Rondo had a breakaway layup and Ray Allen’s 3 was changed to a 2-point basket after a replay, pulling Boston to 91-86 with 42.3 left. Rondo missed a 3 with 10 seconds left that would’ve cut the Celtics’ deficit to three points. C.J. Watson finished with 15 points and Boozer had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls.Trailing 56-47 with 8:10 left in the third quarter, the Bulls scored eight straight points to cut Boston’s lead to one. After Brandon Bass’ putback dunk, Watson made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bulls a 61-58 lead with 3:42 to go in the period.Leading 38-33, the Celtics went on a 11-3 run late in the second quarter, capped by Rondo’s runner that gave the Celtics a 13-point lead. Watson made two free throws to cut the Celtics lead to 49-38 at halftime.Rondo had 10 points and 12 assists for Boston after an 87-86 loss to the Spurs at home on Wednesday night.Pierce led the Celtics with 17 points in the first half and Rondo added eight points and seven assists.

NOTES—Allen came off the bench for the fifth time in his career. He scored 14 points. Before playing on Wednesday, Allen missed six games with a sore right ankle. … The Bulls signed G Mike James for the remainder of the season.

ST. PAUL–The Blackhawks let a late lead slip, though the lost point won’t matter.Shoring up their special teams and avoiding lapses like this are on their to-do list entering the playoffs. Cal Clutterbuck’s tying tip-in with 3:12 left in regulation and Devin Setoguchi’s shootout goal gave the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over the

Stephen Strasburg could hardly wait for this one. His first opener, at Wrigley Field for the first time.Strasburg dominated the Cubs for seven innings, and Ian Desmond singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth on a windy Thursday to give the Washington Nationals a 2-1 win.Strasburg allowed one run and five hits, including an RBI single to Marlon Byrd in the fourth. He was pinch hit for in the eighth, when Kerry Wood forced in the tying run with three straight walks, and did not figure in the decision. Washington went ahead in the ninth when Chad Tracy hit a two-out double off the right-field wall against Carlos Marmol (0-1), and Desmond followed with his third hit. Strasburg struck out five and walked one. He reached 98 mph when he struck out Starlin Castro in the sixth.Ryan Dempster, making his fourth opening start, was just as dominant, striking out 10 in 7 2/3 innings. The Northsiders started their first season since Theo Epstein was hired away from Boston in hopes of helping the Cubs win their first World Series title since 1908. Tyler Clippard (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth to win in relief. Brad Lidge gave up one-out triple off the right-field wall by Ian Stewart in the ninth but got the save in his Nationals debut when pinch-runner Joe Mather was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third and Byrd ended the game by taking a called third strike. Dempster allowed a single by Desmond on the game’s first pitch, then didn’t allow another hit until Desmond singled with one out in the eighth. Dempster left to a standing ovation after striking out Danny Espinosa, but the cheers quickly faded,Wood came on and walked Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and then Jayson Werth on a 3-2 pitch after getting ahead 0-2, sending a loud groan through the ballpark.

“There were a couple that could have gone either way,” Wood said.

Optimism isn’t hard to find around Wrigleyville these days even if the anticipation is more for what happens down the road than this season. The arrival of Epstein along with new general manager Jed Hoyer sparked hope among championship-starved fans, and the newcomers have certainly have been busy. They hired Dale Sveum to replace Mike Quade as manager, traded the troubled Carlos Zambrano to Miami and parted ways with slugger Aramis Ramirez.They’ve made it clear they intend to stock the farm system while trying to remain competitive now. That might be a stretch for a team in transition even if there’s new hope at the moment.

NOTES—Noted Cubs fan Bill Murray had some fun before the game. He ran around the bases and threw the ball to Wood at home before sliding across the plate. He then bounced the ceremonial first pitch. Murray also said the Cubs would win every game before leading the seventh-inning rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” ….The Cubs held 1B Bryan LaHair out of the starting lineup because of a minor nerve issue in his back that’s been bothering him the past few days. Jeff Baker started in his place. LaHair thinks he will be available off the bench Saturday and back in the lineup on Sunday…..Matt Garza is scheduled to start Saturday for the Cubs against Gio Gonzalez….Nationals RHP Chien-Ming Wang (hamstring) and RHP Drew Storen (elbow) flew to Florida on Thursday to begin rehab at the spring training complex. Storen is already throwing off of the mound and Wang is 3-4 days away, manager Davey Johnson said. He expects them to be activated by the end of April.

Goran Dragic scored 21 points, Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets rallied to beat the sluggish Bulls 99-93 Monday night, giving the Bulls back-to-back losses for the first time this season.The Bulls had gone a franchise-record 86 regular-season games without dropping two in a row, second only to Utah’s 95-game run in the late 1990s. But after getting mauled by Oklahoma City, they fell again for the second time in as many days, dropping a wild game that saw several major swings in momentum.The Rockets trailed by as much as 15 in the first half and were down 13 in the third, but two big runs turned this one around. A 14-1 binge tied it at 62 late in the quarter, and they had a 17-2 burst that started in the final minute of the third and gave them an 84-72 lead.Chase Budinger chipped in with 13 points, hitting three big 3-pointers early in the fourth. Courtney Lee scored 13, and Marcus Camby had 12 points and 11 rebounds to help the Rockets bounce back from an overtime loss to Indiana on Sunday.Luol Deng led the Bulls with 24 points, while Carlos Boozer scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, but it was another rough outing for the Bulls.They probably could have used Derrick Rose, but their All-Star guard missed his 11th straight game because a right groin injury. Richard Hamilton returned after missing 14 games with a sprained and bruised right shoulder but finished with just six points — all in the early going. Hamilton also had five of the Bulls 19 turnovers.The Bulls still appeared to be in good shape, leading 61-48 after Boozer’s finger roll 4 ½ minutes into the third.But the Rockets answered Boozer’s layup by scoring 14 of the next 15 points, tying it at 62 on Camby’s jumper with about three minutes left. Then, with under a minute left in the quarter, Patrick Patterson scored on a reverse layup and Earl Boykins hit a 16-footer to send Houston into the fourth quarter with a 71-70 lead.The run was far from finished, though.Scola started the period with a basket and Boykins hit another jumper off a bad pass by Korver. Then, Budinger struck.After taking three shots and scoring four points in the first three quarters, he nailed a 3 to make it an eight-point game and hit two more after a basket by Boozer, extending Houston’s lead to 84-72.

NOTES—Houston’s Kyle Lowry missed his 14th game in a row because of a bacterial infection and teammate Kevin Martin sat out his 11th straight with a sprained right shoulder. … No surprise, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t about to wax poetic after being selected the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. “That’s a byproduct of a good team, good coaching staff, good organization.” The Bulls went 13-3 in March. … The Rockets were 20-8 at home and 8-17 on the road entering Monday’s game, and coach Kevin McHale was at a loss to explain the disparity. “I never understood that,” he said. “Baskets are 10 feet high and the court’s 94 feet. I’ve never seen a fan score a point yet.”

The Minnesota Wild’s high-percentage shootout specialists came through again.Devin Setoguchi and Erik Christensen scored in a shootout to help the Wild beat the Blackhawks 5-4 on Sunday night for their third consecutive victory. Setoguchi had a goal and two assists in regulation, then sealed the victory in the third round of the tiebreaker with a quick wrist shot that beat Ray Emery. Setoguchi is 4 for 7 in shootouts this season, while Christensen, who connected in the first round on a backhander, is 5 for 7.Although they had to settle for one point in the loss, the Blackhawks have lost only twice in regulation in their last 16 games (11-2-3) and are steaming back into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Wild, despite the late spurt, are buried deep in the Western Conference standings and will miss the postseason for the fourth consecutive time. Still, victories matter for Minnesota.Patrick Kane had the lone Hawk goal in the shootout against Josh Harding.Dany Heatley, Kyle Brodziak and defenseman Clayton Stoner also scored for Minnesota, which won in a shootout for the second successive night. According to Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, Setoguchi was his team’s standout player from the opening faceoff. The game was physical, featuring three fights in the first 30 minutes. And the Blackhawks battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the second period to send it to overtime.Kane’s second goal in regulation, during a power play with 2:45 left in the third period, to tie it at 4. Alone in the slot, Kane converted a feed from rookie Andrew Shaw after Patrick Sharp forced Minnesota defenseman Tom Gilbert to turn over the puck.Sharp and Viktor Stalberg also scored.Although the Blackhawks dropped their final home game of the regular season, they already had clinched a playoff spot with a 5-4 victory Saturday night in Nashville and can finish no lower than sixth in the Western Conference. They finished 27-8-6 at the United Center. The Hawks have 98 points, tied with Nashville for third in the Central Division and fifth in the West. The Predators, however, have played one fewer game.The team that finishes sixth in the West will meet the third seed from the conference — this year, the winner of the Pacific Division — in the opening playoff round. The sixth seed — Blackhawks, Detroit or Nashville — is assured of finishing with a better regular-season record than winner of the Pacific. And things are looking up for the Blackhawks, who will get top defenseman Duncan Keith back after a five-game suspension for their next game, Thursday night at Minnesota.There’s also a chance that captain Jonathan Toews, who missed his 20th game with a concussion Sunday, will be back. He has been cleared to practice with contact.Harding made 31 saves through overtime, and Emery stopped 26 shots.Setoguchi opened the scoring at 10:11 of the first on a breakaway after taking Heatley’s long feed. Crawford made a pad save on Setoguchi’s first shot, but the puck trickled underneath him, and Setoguchi stopped and slammed it in.Sharp tied it 34 seconds later. He connected from the slot after taking a centering pass from defenseman Nick Leddy, who had carried the puck in all the way down right wing.Heatley’s tap-in power-play goal, capping a neat cross-ice passing play with Mikko Koivu and Setoguchi, put Minnesota ahead 2-1 just over three minutes later.Stalberg slipped past the Minnesota defense, took a feed from Brent Seabrook, cut to the net and tied it at 2 at 5:28 of the second.But Stoner pinched in and scored on a rebound of Setoguchi’s jam-in attempt 20 seconds later to put Minnesota back in front, 3-2. Then Brodziak added his 22nd goal, sweeping in a rebound while tumbling to the ice, 41 seconds later to make it 4-2. Kane cut it to 4-3 on a shot from the right circle at 8:20.

NOTES—Both Brodziak’s goal (22nd) and Stalberg’s (21st) extended career highs…..Andrew Brunette, who had been playing on the Blackhawks’ top line with Kane and Marian Hossa, missed the game because of an undisclosed (like all)injury.

OKLAHOMA CITY—In a little over a week, the Oklahoma City Thunder have broken out of a midseason slump and made their case to be best team in the NBA.Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Thunder used an electrifying third quarter to beat the Bulls 92-78 on Sunday and move within a game of the Bulls for the NBA’s best record.One week earlier, the Thunder handed Miami its most lopsided defeat yet this season. Then they were even more dominating against the league-leading Bulls.

“Their numbers say what they are. There’s not much they don’t have,” Tom Thibodeau said. “They play hard, they play unselfishly, they play smart, they’re tough. Their defense is excellent.”

The Thunder were scuffling in late March, having lost five out of 10 games while trying to put together a consistent stretch.Oklahoma City beat the Heat 103-87 last Sunday.The Bulls, who had not lost by more than 17 this season, only avoided their biggest loss of the season because the Thunder pulled their starters in the fourth quarter and reserve John Lucas III hit two 3-pointers in the final minute.

“It was disappointing, not that any game is more important than others. But obviously this was a game between the best team in the East and the best team in the West,” Joakim Noah said.Lucas had 19 points to lead the way for the Bulls (42-12), who played without All-Star point guard Derrick Rose for the 10th straight game. The Bulls are now 14-6 this season without the reigning MVP and 7-3 during his current absence with a groin injury.Kyle Korver replaced a slumping Ronnie Brewer in the starting lineup and scored 14.

“Derrick’s a great player. Obviously, we prefer to have him,” Thibodeau said. “But we have more than enough. I was more concerned tonight with the mental aspect. I thought we made a lot of mental mistakes.”

The Thunder (40-12) pulled away by outscoring the Bulls 31-12 in the third quarter, allowing the Bulls to make only five of their 21 shots and forcing five turnovers. Oklahoma City clinched a playoff berth in the process, with the help of tiebreakers over the teams fighting for the Western Conference’s final spot in the postseason.

“We know it’s going to be tough for those guys without Derrick but they’ve been playing very well without him, winning some big games,” Durant said. “We couldn’t take them lightly.”

Durant and Westbrook were a combined 21-for-34 from the field and Oklahoma City shot 49 percent while limiting the Bulls to 33 percent.The Bulls came in with the NBA’s best road record at 21-6 and on a seven-game road winning streak, two shy of the franchise record set during the 1995-96 season when the Bulls set an NBA record by going 72-10.The Bulls never led, falling behind by 10 in the first period and then letting Oklahoma City score the final six points of the first half to rebuild its lead to 49-39.

“You can’t do that on the road against a team like this,” Thibodeau said. “That’s all they need.”

It quickly got worse.Westbrook was at his best during a 13-0 run that put the Thunder firmly in control in the opening 5 minutes of the second half. He hit a jumper, a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer during the burst but his most dynamic play came when he zoomed in front of Luol Deng’s crosscourt pass, snagged it and whipped it back inbounds to a teammate to get the crowd on its feet.Durant followed Noah’s three-point play with a 3-pointer and a two-handed slam off of Westbrook’s alley-oop from half court, and Oklahoma City kept pouring it on.Serge Ibaka had a right-handed dunk, Nick Collison had a two-handed slam while getting fouled and Westbrook threw down a right-handed jam over 7-footer Omer Asik, thumping his chest twice after he came down. Durant topped it off by hitting a 3-pointer to close the quarter and make it 80-51. The Bulls trailed by 30 for the first time this season in the fourth quarter, before their bench cut into the deficit against Oklahoma City’s reserves.

“We had a problem to start the game, a problem at the end of the first quarter, a problem at the end of the second quarter, problems to start the third quarter,” Thibodeau said. “Against a quality team, you can’t overcome that.”

NOTES—Richard Hamilton (right shoulder) was a game-time decision. He has missed 14 straight games and played in only 16 of the Bulls 54 games with a variety of injuries. “I’ve just got to be convinced. It’s more me,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He thinks he’s ready but I just want to make sure we’re smart.”…The Bulls have not had consecutive losses in 86 games, the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Utah’s 95-game run from November 1997 to March 1999……Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks had high praise for his coaching counterpart. Thibodeau was an assistant coach in Minnesota and New York when Brooks played for those teams. “The guy has no life,” Brooks said after a series of compliments. “Even when he was young as an assistant, he never wanted to go out to dinner with me. He had things to do. He’s boring.” Thibodeau wouldn’t argue but retorted it was “from coaching him”