The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played during March.

Rose helped the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls to a 13-3 record in March, a month in which he tallied career highs in points (42 vs. Indiana on March 18) and assists (17 vs. Milwaukee on March 26).

Bryant averaged 25.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists, leading the Lakers to a 12-1 record on the month, bringing them within 2 ½ games of San Antonio for first place in the Western Conference.

Other nominees for Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Houston’s Kyle Lowry, Miami’s Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New Jersey’s Kris Humphries, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala and Sacramento’s Marcus Thornton.