Bulls 100, Mavericks 92

CHICAGO (AP) -- Luol Deng scored 18 points and Tyrus Thomas added 13 points and seven rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 100-92 exhibition victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Josh Howard scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 11.

The Bulls (1-1) pulled away midway in the third quarter. Leading 61-60, Deng hit a jumper and rookie guard Thomas Gardner had a dunk. Kirk Hinrich capped off a 9-0 run with a 3 to give Chicago a 70-60 lead with 5:25 left in the quarter.

Nowitzki and teammate Devin Harris had an animated conversation early in the third quarter after Nowitzki fouled Deng. Dallas coach Avery Johnson had a brief conversation with the two and order was restored between them.

Ben Gordon, Joe Smith, Adrian Griffin, and Thabo Sefolosha missed the game because of injuries for Chicago. Gordon missed with a sprained left ankle, Smith with a swollen right knee, Griffin with a back injury and Sefolosha was out due to a sore hamstring.

Deng was 6-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes and Hinrich added nine points in six assists in 20 minutes.

All starters for both teams sat out the entire fourth quarter.

Joakim Noah, who led Florida to back-to-back titles in college, received a nice ovation from the home crowd when he checked into the game in the first quarter. Noah, who was the ninth overall pick, scored 11 points in his United Center debut. Rookie center Aaron Gray scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds for Chicago, who was their 49th pick overall.

Deng scored 11 points for Chicago in the first half, who led 53-49. Dallas (1-1) guard Jose Barea scored 12 points in the half on 5-of-7 shooting. Barea finished with 17.