Derrick Rose had 26 points and nine assists as the Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Dallas Mavericks 82-77 on Thursday.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points in his fourth game back from a knee injury for Dallas (27-15), which lost for the seventh time in eight tries.

Rose made just 9-of-28 shots but was the only consistent offensive threat for the Bulls (29-14), who were without Carlos Boozer for the third straight contest.

Rose was the lone Chicago player to score in double figures. Luol Deng with 12 rebounds and Kurt Thomas with 11 boards picked up the rebounding hole left by Boozer’s absence.

Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd had only eight points and committed six turnovers while going up against Rose just one night after scoring a season-high 21 points in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson scored 12 points apiece for Dallas. Chandler grabbed 12 rebounds.

Chicago shot just 36.9 percent from the field, while Dallas was even worse at 35.6 percent.

Dallas trailed by nine points at halftime before holding Chicago to 12 third-quarter points. The Mavericks led by four entering the final quarter but squandered their advantage.