It seemed fitting the Bulls wore their alternate black uniforms for the first time this season Monday night given the funeral atmosphere their trips to the Rose Garden create.
Four days past the one-year anniversary of their worst defeat of the 2008-09 season, the Bulls dropped another stinker, meekly succumbing 122-98 to the Trail Blazers.
That’s three straight blowout losses on this six-game trip. It’s also three straight opponents cruising past the century mark, something the Bulls had allowed just once before this trip began. The 122 points marked the most they’ve allowed.
And while this defeat didn’t rival last season’s 42- point loss here, it nevertheless continued to expose the gap between the Bulls and the league’s elite teams.
“They overpowered us,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “They outrebounded us by a lot. That was the difference, their control of the glass.”
LaMarcus Aldridge led five Trail Blazers in double figures with 24 points and added 13 rebounds. Greg Oden contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds. Rudy Fernandez came off the bench to score 13 points, including a heave of a 3-pointer over Joakim Noah as the shot clock expired with 8 minutes, 27 seconds left.
Luol Deng’s 25 points paced the Bulls.
The Bulls were manhandled in the first half, allowing a season-high 66 points and trailing by 15 at the break.
Aldridge flirted with a double- double before halftime, taking advantage of an occasional matchup with Deng because of foul trouble to Taj Gibson and finishing the half with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Portland scored 28 points in the paint in the first half alone and enjoyed a 26-14 rebounding advantage.
The Bulls made a run in the third quarter, pulling to 77-73 on a long jumper from Deng, who scored 12 points in the quarter.
But Aldridge got fouled by Derrick Rose while scoring on a power move, converting the three-point play to kick-start a 9-2 run.
The Bulls have struggled against teams with physical front lines, and this night proved no exception.
Oden continually got deep position on Noah and Brad Miller, who continues to struggle to hit his jumper from the elbow. On the Bulls’ list of concerns, increased bench production wouldn’t necessarily rank No. 1. But it would make the cut.
“Guys coming off the bench have to make shots and be effective offensively,” Del Negro said.
Besides Miller’s recent struggles, Kirk Hinrich entered shooting career-low percentages of 36 percent overall and 31.6 percent from 3-point land.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a stretch like this,” Hinrich said. “I have to stay aggressive. Sometimes I feel like I have it going, and then I have a hard time finding a way of asserting myself.
“I’m not too worried about it. I figure it’s going to come around some time. Just keep looking to take my shots, be aggressive and I’ll get through it.”
Noah’s frustrations boiled over with 5:34 left when he drew a technical foul for firing the ball at the basket stanchion. The Bulls have their own frustrations to work through.
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Big number: 28
The Trail Blazers’ average margin of victory over the Bulls in last season’s two-game series.
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
