In the Chicago Bulls final four-game road trip, they came out strong and beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-101 on Friday, Dec. 30.

Derrick Rose led the team offensively and everything seemed to come together for them.

The Bulls got off to a slow start as the Clippers jumped to a 7-0 lead. They maintained seven-point leads throughout most of the first quarter but within the last minute, the Bulls tied it up and ended with a 29-28 lead.

In the second quarter, the pace picked up and the teams exchanged leads when it wasn’t tied. The Bulls found success from the line and within the quarter’s last minute, Joakim Noah showed up and pulled the Bulls ahead to enter halftime with a 57-52 advantage.

Returning from the break, the Bulls maintained a small lead but the Clippers weren’t going to give up that easily. Blake Griffin kept hitting free throws for Los Angeles but Luol Deng and Rose kept the Bulls ahead. The Bench Mob took over and helped the team see an 83-77 lead as it entered the final quarter.

The Bulls kicked it into gear in the fourth quarter as Rose extended the lead from his successive free throws. Throughout the quarter, the Bulls led. Around the seven-minute mark, they began hitting three-pointers while the Clippers’ Griffin kept making shots to tighten the Bulls’ lead but it wasn’t good enough on this night.

Rose was on a mission to beat the highly-touted Clippers and Chris Paul. He was very successful.

Scoring…Rose led the team with 29 points,16 assists and eight rebounds. Playing against his first NBA coach for two seasons, Vinny Del Negro said of his former player, “Derrick is just a handful and we all know that. I didn’t think we ganged up on him enough. He got too many free throws, but he also hit some tough shots in the fourth quarter, stepping behind the line and hitting some 3s.”

Deng and Noah both added 19 points with Rip Hamilton contributing 16 points.

Next up? The Bulls host Memphis on Sunday, Jan. 1.

As a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan and Chicago resident, the Derrick Rose era has been an enjoyable one.

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I’ve been a 50-plus year fan of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as a middle school basketball coach for years. As a youngster I was a die hard Boston Celtics’ fan, but being from Illinois, when the Chicago Bulls arrived on the scene, I soon jumped on their bandwagon.

I’ve been disappointed with the NBA this year because they have delayed the beginning of the 2012 season. However I’m still enough of a Chicago Bulls’ fan that I will identify five special moments from the 2011 season.

The Chicago Bulls’ regular season performance:

Nothing was more astounding than the Chicago Bulls’ overall record for 2011. They finished the season with a (62-20) record which was good enough to win the Eastern Conference. Further, it was the best record in the entire NBA.

What was really satisfying was that the Bulls finished ahead of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Both of these teams were favored to be better than Chicago.

Chicago Bulls sweep Miami Heat in regular season:

Yes I know that in the playoffs the Bulls got whipped. However, the Miami Heat were considered to be, at the beginning of the 2011 season, invincible. Chicago swept Miami (3-0) with the last game taking place in Miami. It was very exciting.

Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose from 2011:

Unfortunately near the end of the 2011 season Derrick Rose got injured. However as these plays show you, the savvy point guard of the Bulls can penetrate, guard, dunk the ball and pass as well as any player. When I think of 2011 I must think of him.

Dennis Rodman’s Hall of Fame Speech:

Pro forward and super rebounder Dennis Rodman was a hard nose player for the Bulls (and Detroit Pistons ) who lived on the edge of insanity and odd behaviors. He gave one of the most touching Hall of Fame speeches ever given.

Dennis Rodman made me proud to be a Bulls’ fan.

Ultimate Disaster: Heat Beat Bulls in Playoffs:

All Bulls’ fans knew their playoff team wasn’t the same team from the regular season and to make matters worse the team they would ultimately lose to the Miami Heat.

Looking back over 2011 the course of events that stood out included winning the Eastern Conference with the best NBA record, watching Derrick Rose, beating the Miami Heat, listening to Dennis Rodman enter the Hall of Fame and unfortunately losing to the Miami Heat in the playoffs.

A little revenge – Lack of Miami Heat class:

The Miami Heat ultimately lost to the Dallas Mavericks. During this time the Heat players showed how little class they had by mocking Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James showed how he could “fake a foul.”

As always there was good and bad in during the season but overall for Bulls’ fans 2011 brought more pleasure than pain.

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Chicago – All Derrick Rose wanted for Christmas was an NBA season. At one point he thought it might be canceled altogether.

But it’s game on after all, with camp starting Friday, Dec. 9. The Bulls officially opened their doors to players Thursday morning.

“I don’t have a key yet,” Rose said. “They locked me out!”

He might have had trouble getting in, but Derrick Rose was giddy about getting back to work again.

“I’m happy, I’m happy,” Rose said as he laughed. “See? I’m the first one up here.”

Getting back to the game he loves wasn’t the only thing that put a smile on Rose’s face Thursday.

“It’s kind of crazy that they made the Derrick Rose rule,” he said, “but I’m happy that they did.”

With the new rule in place, Rose is in line to earn a five-year extension worth around $100 million. He’ll certainly earn every penny as he maintains contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t need any more help.

“It wasn’t my teammates’ fault that we lost those games last year,” Rose said. “It was me, me not making plays and me not playing smart throughout the whole game.”

Although Rose insisted Keith Bogans is his guy, many believe an upgrade at shooting guard is necessary to take the next step.

“My whole goal is to win the championship,” Rose concluded.

The bulls officially get to work on that a week from Friday.