Sixers stop Bulls

Philadelphia - Jodie Meeks broke out of his shooting slump to score 24 points as the Sixers avenged their worst loss of the season by topping the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls, 105-99, in front of 15,303 at Wells Fargo Center.

Meeks, who had a total of just 14 points in his last four games, finished 8-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range for Philadelphia, which suffered its worst loss of the season, 121-76, in Chicago
on Dec. 21.

"When he is shooting like that, he gravitates toward the ball," Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday said of Meeks. "He finds the ball and the ball finds him."

Lou Williams added 20 points off the bench, including two big buckets late in the game that helped quell a Bulls rally.

"When Lou is playing well we are a totally different team," Sixers coach Collins said. "When he is on the floor to finish games it really makes things easier for us. This was a hell of a win."

Meanwhile, Holiday continued his stellar play, holding his own against Chicago All-Star Derrick Rose, with 19 points on 8-of-14 from the floor and six assists.

"That was great," Holiday said of coming back after the huge loss in the Second City. "We lost by 45. You know how that felt."

Andres Nocioni, starting in place of the injured Andre Iguodala again, contributed 11 despite dislocating the right middle finger on his right hand in the first quarter. Elton Brand also had 11 along with eight rebounds and three steals for the Sixers, who have won four of five on their home floor.

Rose finished with 27 points and nine assists, while Carlos Boozer had game-highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds in defeat. Luol Deng netted 22 points as the trio combined for 80 of the Bulls' 99 points on the night.

"We have to get better on D," Boozer said. "Our offense isn't really the problem. You let a team shoot 50 percent or above you're not going to win too many of these games."

The Bulls were coming off a last-second loss at New Jersey on Wednesday and have fallen in consecutive games for just the third time all season.

"We couldn't stop anybody," Rose said. "We can't panic, we just lost two in a row. We have a game tomorrow (against Boston). That's the good thing about the NBA where you play back-to-back."

Six Shots:

-The Sixers made 11 consecutive shots started with 1:14 left until halftime and finishing with 4:34 left in the third quarter. Philadelphia shot 56.3 percent as a team after making a season-high 56.7 percent versus Washington on Wednesday. The Sixers are 6-2 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.

-Veteran center Tony Battie joined Iguodala (right Achilles tendinitis) on the sidelines with right rotator cuff tendinitis.

-The Sixers are now 10-6 at Wells Fargo Center after finishing 12-29 on their home floor last season.

-Meeks has made four-or-more threes in six games this season.

-LouWill outscored the Bulls bench by himself, 20-19.

-Holiday is averaging 20.9 points on 56.2 percent shooting over his last seven games.