CHICAGO – Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau preaches 48 minutes of effort to his team. He didn’t quite get that against the Mavericks on Wednesday night, but it was much better than the last time out.

Luol Deng had 22 points and six rebounds as the Bulls cruised to a 101-78 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Five players scored at least 11 points to help the Bulls (7-7) beat the Mavericks for the fourth straight time. The Bulls recovered from a 93-92 loss to Milwaukee on Monday, in which it blew a 27-point third-quarter lead, largely because of the proficiency of its reserves.