CHICAGO -- Between the nasty crossovers and fearless drives, Derrick Roses back problems appear to be in the past -- a very good thing for the Chicago Bulls. As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday. Rose looked sharp and helped the Bulls play more like championship contenders after a brutal loss to New Jersey two days earlier. They led by 18 through the first quarter and were up 55-37 at halftime, but found themselves hanging on in the end after a big push by Atlanta. The Bulls were clinging to an 85-79 lead after a late three-pointer by Jannero Pargo before Luol Deng nailed a three of his own to make it a nine-point game. Rose then buried a turnaround jumper on Pargo to make it 90-79 with 2:10 remaining and Chicago prevailed, sending Atlanta to its seventh loss in 10 games. Rose also had six assists and five rebounds. Carlos Boozer added 16 points, Ronnie Brewer had 13, and Deng and John Lucas 10 apiece. Joakim Noah chipped in with 16 rebounds. "Having (Rose) back just opens up everything," Noah said. "He was very aggressive tonight. When hes aggressive like that, it opens up everything for everybody, and it gives us a lot of confidence." Rose did not make himself available for comment afterward. Coach Tom Thibodeau said his conditioning is "not where it usually is," but the explosiveness was there. "Overall, I was very pleased," he said. "Derrick said he felt really good out there." Pargo, a Chicago native who previously played for the Bulls, provided a big spark off the bench for Atlanta with a season-high 19 points, including five three-pointers. Josh Smith added 17 points and 12 rebounds, but Joe Johnson (12 points) sat out the fourth quarter because of recurring tendinitis in his left knee. The Hawks showed little life in the early going after being blown out by Portland on Sunday and paid for it in the end. "We as a team, sometimes, we come out and play with a sense of urgency; sometimes we dont," coach Larry Drew said. "Thats something weve done this year. You cant play like that. "Nobody is to blame, but everybody is to blame," he added. "We all have to put ourselves in one foxhole and figure it out together." The Hawks were without Marvin Williams, who missed the game because of a death in the family, but its hard to believe he would have made that big a difference with the way the Bulls played early on. Coming off one of their ugliest performances in two seasons under Thibodeau, they quickly rediscovered their form. Rose was his usual explosive self, whether he was freezing Jeff Teague with a wicked crossover or burying jumpers. He scored nine in the first quarter as the Bulls grabbed a 35-17 lead, and he had plenty of help with Deng and Brewer each adding seven points. It was a big difference from Saturday, when Chicago fell behind 22-3 and never recovered. Of course, this time, the Bulls had their best player. That the Bulls are 7-3 without Rose is a testament to their depth, but the players realize they need him if theyre going to achieve their ultimate goal. Chicago is eyeing a championship after winning 62 games on the way to the Eastern Conference finals last season, and theyre dominating again even though Rose and veteran guard Richard Hamilton have missed significant time because of injuries. The Bulls insisted they wouldnt rush Rose back. He had increased his activity in practice but still was a game-time decision on Monday. "Who were playing had nothing to do with it," Thibodeau said. "He felt he was 100 per cent and he could go. He was cleared medically to do it. Well just go from there. He said he felt well out there." Notes: Drew said he met with Tracy McGrady to discuss his comments after Sundays loss at Portland and that it was handled "in-house." McGrady made it clear he was upset about a lack of playing time, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Im tired of this (garbage)." ... Hamilton (right thigh) remained sidelined for Chicago. The Bulls were also without backup point guard C.J. Watson, who left in the third quarter of Saturdays loss to New Jersey after taking a blow to the head from the Nets Kris Humphries. Mich... Koenen Youth Jersey . Dietrich tied the game with a three-run shot, Juan Pierre singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Miami dealt the Los Angeles Dodgers their eighth straight loss, 5-4 on Friday night. . Top Picks: Over the last three seasons, C Claude Giroux has put up 216 points, the fourth-best total in the league. 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Veteran Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont., led Canada with a hat trick, while Montreals Jesse Scanzano, Haley Irwin of Thunder Bay, Ont., and Tessa Bonhomme of Sudbury, Ont., each added a pair of goals. Montreals Caroline Ouellette, Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., Gillian Apps of Unionville, Ont., Jennifer Wakefield of Pickering, Ont., Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., Mallory Deuce of London, Ont., and Bobbi Jo Slusar of Swift Current, Sask., also scored. Goaltender Christina Kessler of Mississauga, Ont., earned the shutout. Half of the Canadian goals were scored in the third period. "We actually played our best period in the third period," Canadian head coach Dan Church said. "We worked really hard too and they played their third goaltender." Church didnt want bad habits to creep into Canadas game once the win was well in hand and he emphasized that during the second intermission. "I definitely delivered a message in between the second and the third that I thought our effort level had dropped off in a couple of key areas that we talked about and to the players credit, they responded to that in the third period, baackchecking and battling for pucks," Church said.dddddddddddd "Our veteran players led by example and were some of the best players on the ice tonight." Canada took only 10 forwards to Finland, so they are getting a lot of ice time. "Theyre cycling through quite quickly up front, but no one was really labouring at all," Church said. "Thats evidence that theyve put in some hard workout in the summer and weve had a couple of hard workouts here too before we got on the ice." The 12 Nations is a new tournament in the womens hockey schedule. The International Ice Hockey Federation wants to close the large gaps in skill between countries by providing more competitive opportunities. Its hoped federations will put more resources into female hockey and that players will be motivated to improve their skills. Eight countries -- Canada, the U.S., Finland, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Japan -- are facing each other in Finland, while France, Germany, Norway and the Czech Republic are playing in a mini-tournament simultaneously in Courcheval, France. Canada meets Russia on Thursday before facing Slovakia on Saturday and world champion U.S. on Sunday. Church said Liz Knox of Stouffville, Ont., will start in net against Russia. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '