Derrick Rose grabbed the microphone and thanked the fans for making him the Bull’s first All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1998. Then he went out and showed why they made a wise decision.Rose had a career-high 42 points and the Bulls headed into the break with an impressive 109-99 victory over the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.Luol Deng had 19 points and Carlos Boozer finished with 15 for the Bulls, who shot 54 percent in its fourth consecutive win. The Bulls improved to 38-16 after winning 41 games last season.Once again hearing “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants, Rose was at his best when San Antonio challenged in the fourth quarter. He had 13 points in the final period, answering Spurs baskets with acrobatic drives and long jumpers.Rose’s long jumper as the shot clock expired with 3:21 left gave the Bulls a 101-90 lead and took the steam out of one San Antonio rally. He also finished with eight assists and five rebounds. “That was some performance,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It was great leadership.” Tony Parker scored 26 points and All-Star Manu Ginobili added 16 for San Antonio, which had won six of seven. Reserve Gary Neal made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.The Bulls led 83-75 after three quarters and grabbed control early in the fourth. Ronnie Brewer kickstarted a 11-2 run with a dunk and finished it off with a jumper that made it 94-80 with 8:08 remaining.Tim Duncan had 14 points and nine rebounds hours after Popovich announced he would replace Yao Ming in the Western Conference’s starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star game in Los Angeles.Duncan enters the break with career-low averages in points and rebounds, but is a key reason why San Antonio leads the NBA with a 46-10 record. The Spurs trailed for much of the night in the finale of their annual rodeo road trip but challenged the Bulls with several bursts. Rose and the Bulls had an answer each time while improving to 25-4 at home in their best start at the United Center since 1997-98 championship team won 25 of its first 27 home games.Duncan hit a running hook and Parker converted a three-point play to help San Antonio pull within two with 4:49 left in the third. But Deng stopped the spurt with a 3-pointer and Boozer had three straight points to make it 79-71.Even with the loss, it was a banner first half for San Antonio, which set several franchise records for fastest starts. The Spurs went 6-3 on their nine-game trip and open the second half with a three-game homestand.Rose slithered through San Antonio’s stout defense for 21 points in the first half, making eight of 12 shots from the field. He scored the Bulls last six points of the second quarter, connecting on a nice runner, a jumper and two free throws to give the Bulls a 58-51 lead at the break.

NOTES—Parker said he dinged his right knee but was fine…..Rose also was selected by the fans to participate in Saturday’s NBA Skills Challenge against Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Washington’s John Wall, Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul…..The Spurs and Bulls split the season series. San Antonio rallied to beat Chicago 103-94 on Nov. 17……Deng was shaken up with 9:40 left but stayed in the game……Jordan celebrated his 48th birthday on Thursday.