Vinny Del Negro knew.
Looking back at two straight losses and staring at four more road games against Western Conference powers above .500, the Bulls’ coach understood the stakes Friday night.
That’s why he cut short Derrick Rose’s typical fourth-quarter rest, sending the red-hot guard back in a mere 116 seconds into the fourth quarter at U.S. Airways Center.
Rose rewarded Del Negro with one of the most spectacular Bulls dunks since Michael Jordan retired, posterizing Goran Dragic with a vicious two-handed slam while being fouled with 6:12 left.
And the Bulls stole a critical 115-104 victory over the Suns in a surprisingly physical fourth quarter for two teams many consider soft. The victory marked the first time the Bulls have won in Phoenix in consecutive seasons since 1989.
People will be buzzing about Rose’s dunk for weeks, and it proved the highlight of his All-Star-worthy performance of 32 points and four assists.
But Rose had plenty of help.
Kirk Hinrich scored 14 points and hounded Steve Nash into an uncharacteristically quiet game that featured eight points, seven assists and five turnovers.
John Salmons shook off sluggishness he expected after missing one game with the flu and contributed 14 points and a huge 3-pointer in the fourth.
And Luol Deng came up with tough rebounds in traffic and contributed 23 points as the Bulls shot 50.6 percent.
The Bulls played almost a flawless first half in building a 64-54 halftime lead. Rose scored 18 points while missing just two shots and threw down a spectacular alley-oop from Hinrich in the first quarter.
Tyrus Thomas came in with rebounding energy after Taj Gibson picked up two quick fouls but lost Channing Frye for back-to-back 3-pointers. Hinrich and Deng shot 9-for-15 and hit double figures before the break, at which point the Bulls were shooting 57.8 percent.
Rose and the Bulls lost some of their offensive mojo in the third quarter, during which Joakim Noah sat for the final 9 minutes, 48 seconds after picking up his fourth foul. Noah battled his foul trouble to finish with 19 points and eight rebounds.
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
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