67 -- The number of points Seattle gave up in the first half

54-32 -- The Bulls scoring advantage inside the paint over Seattle.

53.7 -- Heading into the game with Seattle the Bulls were shooting a league-worst 39.8 percent from the field. But they shot much better against the Sonics.

27-- Ben Gordon’s total points for the game. The Chicago guard, along with Kirk Hinrich (15 points, eight assists), carried the Bulls.

18 -- The number of turnovers for Seattle, resulting in 24 points for Chicago.

Boxscore -- Check it out here.

Durant watch -- Durant finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting in his first game in the United Center. He only played 24 minutes as Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo sat the starters for most of the second half.

Did you see that? -- With halftime winding down Ben Gordon drove the length of the floor and floated in a tear drop from eight feet just before the buzzer, giving the Bulls a 67-49 lead. It serves as a good example of how the Bulls dominated this one.

Overheard -- Not much heard, but lots of frustration seen from Kurt Thomas and Chris Wilcox as they were pulled from the floor midway through the third quarter and down 25. The guys continue to show a solid front when interviewed, but the veterans seem to be getting frustrated with the way the season is going.

Final take -- There’s not much to say here if you watched the game. If you didn’t watch the game you were one of the lucky ones.

Seattle continues to struggle with teams that have quick guard that can get to the rim. It’s a combination of things. Bad perimeter defense. A lack of an shot blocker inside. And just bad rotations defensively that allow for gaps in the defense and guys open on the perimeter with no one getting a hand in the face.

Seattle can’t blame its performance on not being rested because they had a day off in Chicago. But I’m still waiting to see some leaders emerge and take on the role of vocal leader on the floor. Durant is too young to do that. And veterans like Kurt Thomas and Wally Szczerbiak haven’t necessarily taken on the role, for whatever reason, at least publically.

There’s seems to be a leadership void, and I think someone needs to be out there holding the team accountable when they are not playing well. Maybe that’s the residual affect of a team going through a rebuilding process and youth movement.

Listen to Carlesimo talk about the game here. And Earl Watson says the team needs to bring it against New York tomorrow.

This one is pretty much over, with Chicago leading 95-72 at the end of the third quarter.

Chicago got into a groove offensively in the first half, and after getting comfortable shot the ball with much more confidence in the second half.

After that the Sonics have pretty much mailed it in. They're not playing with any intensity on the defensive end, letting the Bulls drive to the basket at will in what has turned into a glorified scrimmage for the most part.

Chicago guards Ben Gordon and Kurt Hinrich have been the catalysts. Gordon has 27 points and six assists, and Hinrich has 15 points and eight assists. Seattle again had trouble stopping dribble penetration.

They came in only shooting 39.8 percent from the field, but the Chicago Bulls shot 57.1 percent in the first quarter and lead 31-27 at the end of the first.

Ben Gordon has been the catalyst for the Bulls, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.

Seattle's hung in by shooting 52 percent form the field. Luke Ridnour has looked good so far. He came in with three minutes left in the first quarter and has done a nice job penetrating inside and getting to the basket. Rid has four points so far.

Seattle (5-16) at Chicago (6-12)

When: 5:30 p.m., United Center, Chicago

TV: FSN. Radio: 770-AM

Series: Seattle lost both contests last season, a 99-84 setback in Chicago and a 107-101 defeat in Seattle.

Scouting the Bulls: After starting the season 2-10, the Bulls have won four of their last six games. But Chicago hosts the Sonics after suffering a disheartening 92-81 loss to Boston on Saturday.

The Bulls were supposed to contend for the Eastern Conference crown this season, but poor shooting has been the primary cause of Chicago’s struggles so far. The Bulls are last in the league in scoring (89.27 points a contest) and last in field goal shooting percentage (39.8 percent).

Chicago’s poor shooting numbers included three of its primary players in the starting lineup in Ben Gordon (37.3 percent), Kirk Hinrich (35 percent) and Ben Wallace (35 percent).

"You can lose sleep over it but is pretty simple. We have to make shots. You have to step up and make them," coach Scott Skiles told USA Today. "In the games we have struggled to make shots, a common denominator has been our ballhandling and our passing. We are making it tough on our shooters."

Gordon (17.6 points a game) leads the Bulls in scoring and Wallace (9.1 rebounds a game) leads the Bulls in rebounding.

Scouting the Sonics: Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said Luke Ridnour should play again tonight, which is a good thing because Seattle will need some help at the guard spot against Chicago’s three-guard tandem of Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon.

Carlesimo said the key to the game will be keeping Chicago’s quick guards from penetrating, and holding the Bulls’ big guys off of the boards.

Delonte West and Robert Swift will be inactive tonight.

Defensively, except for the first half of the New Orleans game, Seattle has been better of late. The Sonics have moved up to tied for seventh in the league in opponents’ field goal percentage (44.3).

Carlesimo said the difference is guys are trusting each other to help when they get beat, and the team has developed better communication and defensive chemistry over time.

Listen to the rest of Carlesimo’s conversation here.

Rookie Kevin Durant also talked about playing in the United Center for the first time ? the house that Michael Jordan built.

"I don’t think anybody could do what he did in this gym. Nobody," Durant said. "I don’t care who you are. I mean a guy like Jordan, I guess I would say he made this arena. You can’t think about trying to compete with a guy like that. So I’ll just go out there and play my game and try to have fun."

Listen to the rest of Durant’s conversation with the Chicago media here.

Next: Wednesday at New York, 4:30 p.m., Madison Square Garden