Chicago defeated Milwaukee 117-102 on Friday night to break a tie for the eighth, and final, playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Everybody around here is happy and we don't want to go back down, so we are going to fight for it," Derrick Rose said.

The rookie had a career-high 27 points in the victory.

"We did a great job of getting out in transition and making the right plays," said Ben Gordon, who finished with 34 points. "Every time we got a rebound or a steal, it seemed like almost every time we converted."