RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Rookie Elton Brand scored 21 points and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth straight time, 100-90 on Sunday night.

Toni Kukoc had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Bulls, who dealt the Clippers their fourth straight loss and 18th in 20 games.

Maurice Taylor scored 23 points and Troy Hudson added 19 off the bench for the Clippers.

Brand ignited a 14-2 run with a slam dunk and capped it with a short jumper, as the Bulls turned a three-point deficit into a 66-57 lead with 2:55 left in the third quarter. They maintained that margin through the end of the period before the Clippers reduced it to 83-77 on consecutive layups by Hudson and Taylor, followed by Taylor's 17-footer with 5:41 remaining.

But Los Angeles never got closer, as Kukoc sealed the win for Chicago with four free throws and a slam dunk in the final 3 1-2 minutes.

The Bulls hit 12 of their first 17 shots in the second quarter, trimming a 16-point deficit to 45-44 with 1:07 left in the half. Kukoc fueled a 19-6 run with 10 points in a span of 3 1-2 minutes, including a short hook shot that capped the rally. Rookie Ron Artest's slam dunk one minute into the third quarter gave the Bulls a 50-49 lead, their first since Artest's game-opening layup.

Michael Olowokandi, who didn't make more than five field goals in any of his previous eight games, shot 5-for-6 in the first quarter alone to help Los Angeles take a 29-13 lead. But he finished with only 12 points.

The Clippers forced 10 turnovers in the period en route to their second-best defensive quarter of the season, and connected on 10 of their first 13 shots.

The game marked the first-ever meeting between Brand, the top pick in the NBA draft, and Clippers rookie Lamar Odom, the fourth overall pick. Odom was the rookie of the month in November and Brand earned the honors in January.

Notes: The Clippers were 1-17 against Chicago in the 1990s and 0-9 on the road. They beat the Bulls only twice when Michael Jordan was in the lineup, holding him to 26 points both times in Los Angeles. ... The Bulls shot 54 percent, the second time they shot better than 50 percent from the field this season. ... Dickey Simpkins returned to the Bulls' lineup after traveling to Chicago for the birth of his son, Jacoby Niko Simpkins. ... Brand (Duke) and Odom (Rhode Island) both left college two years early and never faced each other before turning pro. Brand outscored Odom, who took only two shots in 26 minutes and finished with four points.