Jordan, Paul dominate as Clippers pull away from Bulls

Injuries, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan proved too much for the Chicago Bulls to overcome on Sunday afternoon, as the Los Angeles Clippers came away from United Center with a 96-86 victory.

The Bulls, who entered the game without Derrick Rose (knee) and Taj Gibson (ankle), also lost Jimmy Butler to a sprained elbow in the third quarter.

Paul led the way for L.A., finishing with 28 points, 12 assists and five rebounds on 12-of-19 (63 percent) shooting, while Jordan dominated the boards once again, hauling down 26 rebounds.

Jordan, the league's leading rebounder, tied a franchise record on Sunday with his eighth straight game of at least 15 rebounds, matching a record previously set by Bob McAdoo and Michael Cage.

The Bulls utilized the Hack-A-Shaq strategy on Jordan at various points throughout the game, but his 5-of-12 performance from the free-throw line was offset by his defensive dominance.

The two teams headed to the fourth quarter in a deadlock before the Clippers dominated the final frame, 27-17.

Rookie big man Nikola Mirotic carried the load for Chicago (despite referee Joey Crawford trying to block his free throw attempts), pouring in 29 points and nine rebounds, which included him scoring 16 of the team's 17 fourth quarter points.

Joakim Noah chipped in 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, but he and frontcourt mate Pau Gasol combined to shoot a putrid 4-of-21 as Jordan and Co. controlled the paint.

No player highlighted the Bulls' shooting woes quite like Kirk Hinrich, however, as the veteran guard went scoreless in 25 minutes, finishing 0-of-7 from the field, becaming the first player to record two such games this season.

The Clippers improved to 39-21 with the victory, while the depleted Bulls fell to 37-23.