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 After the Los Angeles Clippers' 12-2 run to start the fourth, all on
3-pointers, the Bulls countered with a 10-3 run of their own and
hung on for an 83-80 win that went down to L.A.'s final possession.
Clippers point guard Chris Paul missed a 3-pointer that would have
tied it with less than two seconds left to play, and the Bulls
secured the rebound to seal the victory.
"I think we did our job in the fourth, made them take a lot of
contested shots and we rebounded," said shooting guard Jimmy Butler,
who finished with 14 points and eight assists. "Rebounding was very
important."
The Clippers (13-10) were out-rebounded 54-52, but edged Chicago
13-11 in that category in the fourth. It played a role in the Bulls
(12-8) again losing a late lead. Los Angeles hit 8 of 11 from the
3-point line in the fourth, but a couple followed offensive
rebounds.
"In the fourth quarter, when (you're) up that big in this league
now, you've just got to worry about the three ball," said Bulls
guard Derrick Rose, who ditched his protective facemask for the
second half and scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth. "You've
got to make sure that you secure the long rebounds, because that's
one of the reasons they got back in the game tonight. They shot a
lot of 3s, and they were able to get the rebounds and kick it around
the perimeter and take more shots."
Forward Pau Gasol scored 24 points to lead four Bulls in
double-figures. Forward Blake Griffin, who was ejected with 5:59
left in the third for a flagrant foul, led the Clippers with 18
points and 11 rebounds.
When L.A. stormed back to tie it 66-66 in the fourth, they did it
without Griffin, their leading scorer. Griffin attempted to block a
shot by Bulls forward Taj Gibson, but swiped his forearm into
Gibson's head after biting on a pump fake.
Griffin, who was ejected after a video review, said it was
accidental.
"He got me up in the air on a pump fake," Griffin said. "I tried to
swat the ball. Obviously I missed. It was disappointing on their
ruling, because I didn't want to leave the game. I wasn't trying to
hit him in the face. There was not intent to hit him, only the
ball."
Gibson, who was helped to his feet by Griffin, wasn't upset about
it.
"I'm old school, man, it's basketball," he said. "You're going to
get hit. First thing, as soon as it happened, he reached down and
made sure I was OK. I've known Blake for a long time. Great guy.
Even after he got ejected, he was making sure I was OK, so it's not
a big thing."
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Chicago not only ended its three-game losing streak, but also
snapped a three-game winning streak for the Clippers, who shot a
season-low 34.1 percent from the field.
Los Angeles had also won five straight against the Bulls at the
United Center.
Chicago led 44-35 at halftime and pushed it to 55-39 on a dunk by
Gibson with 8:06 left in the third, capping a 12-4 run.
The Bulls trailed 19-11 with 3:23 left in the first, but rattled off
a 7-0 run after a timeout to narrow the gap. They built a nine-point
halftime lead by outscoring the Clippers 21-11 in the second, when
L.A. went 3 for 23 from the field (13.0 percent), its second-fewest
field goals in a quarter this season.
"I liked the way we fought back," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said.
"It was an ugly game. The last two minutes we just didn't play
smart. The happy part of the end was we made a run. Tonight,
turnovers and fouls stopped us. We had a great shot to steal the
game at the end."
NOTES: Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg stuck with the same starting lineup
he used in a 105-100 loss Wednesday against the Boston Celtics,
which meant F Taj Gibson made his second start of the season. Gibson
played 19:48 against the Celtics and finished with eight points and
seven rebounds. ... Chicago F Mike Dunleavy (back), who hasn't
played yet this season, missed his 20th game. ... The Clippers came
into the game without any injury issues. ... Los Angeles coach Doc
Rivers is pleased with his team's defensive effort, but still wants
to see the Clippers get more defensive rebounds. ... Clippers PG
Chris Paul faced Bulls PG Derrick Rose for the sixth time Thursday,
and the Bulls are now 6-0 in those games. Rose came into the game
averaging 24.4 points a game against the Clippers, his highest
against any opponent. He had just 11 on Thursday, though.
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