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 "You plant a seed in their mind, knowing that they're not going
to get anything easy close to the basket," Gasol said. "You alter
shots, as well."
For confirmation, just ask the Denver Nuggets.
The Bulls set a franchise record with 18 blocked shots in a 106-101
win over the Nuggets on Thursday night. Chicago (23-10) earned its
eighth win in nine games and improved to 8-5 against teams from the
Western Conference.
Gasol blocked a career-high nine shots to go along with 17 points
and nine rebounds. Forward Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 26 points
and eight assists, and guard Derrick Rose scored 17 points despite
missing his first eight shots from the field.
Denver (13-20) lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped to
4-12 on the road this season.
Forward Wilson Chandler scored 22 points to lead the Nuggets. Guard
Ty Lawson added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Guard
Arron Afflalo scored 19 points, and forward Kenneth Faried notched
18 points and 19 rebounds.
 Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said he could not remember seeing a team
block 18 shots in a game.
"In those situations, if you can't finish inside, we have to kick
the ball out to our shooters and at least give them a chance," Shaw
said. "That, coupled with the fact that we couldn't keep them off
the offensive boards down the stretch when we were able to get
stops, just killed us."
Chicago's previous record for blocked shots in a game was 16, which
it set Jan. 20, 2012, against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition
to Gasol's nine blocks, the Bulls received three from center Joakim
Noah, two apiece from Rose and forward Taj Gibson, and one apiece
from Butler and guard Aaron Brooks.
As Gasol and Noah led the defense, Rose sparked the Bulls' offense
late in the game. Rose scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth
quarter after going scoreless in the first half.
"It's really my teammates giving me that confidence," said Rose, who
entered the game on a 7-for-35 skid, then shot 7-for-25 on Thursday.
"Even though I was missing shots like I was the last couple of
games, my teammates were still giving me the ball, talking to me,
giving me confidence, telling me to shoot the ball. I'm fortunate."
The Bulls erased a 13-point deficit shortly after halftime to grab a
77-74 lead entering the fourth quarter. Butler opened a 22-8 run
with a driving layup into traffic, and he finished the run by
finding guard Kirk Hinrich for an open 3-pointer from the corner to
break a tie.
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Faried said the Nuggets needed to play with more of a killer
instinct in the second half against coach Tom Thibodeau's Bulls, who
improved to 11-2 in their past 13 games.
"I know 'Thibs,'" Faried said. "He got into them at halftime. I knew
that they would attack and rebound and try to keep me off the
boards. That's what they did. They boxed me out, hit me, and they
just kept attacking the whole half."
Denver established a 53-42 lead at halftime thanks to the hot
shooting of Chandler, who finished the first half with 16 points.
Chandler scored eight consecutive points with a 3-pointer, a slam
dunk and another 3-pointer to turn a 35-35 tie into a 43-35 lead
with 2:29 remaining in the first half.
Neither team pulled away during a back-and-forth first quarter that
featured four ties and six lead changes. The Nuggets closed the
quarter with a 23-22 lead behind six points apiece from Lawson and
Afflalo, who combined to shoot 5-for-7 in the first 12 minutes.
NOTES: Bulls G Kirk Hinrich returned to the court after missing five
games because of a strained left hamstring. The Bulls went 4-1
during Hinrich's absence. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler was in the
starting lineup after testing his bruised right quadriceps before
the game. ... Bulls F Doug McDermott missed his 16th game because of
a right knee injury. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur remained limited
to emergency situations because of a lower-leg strain, coach Brian
Shaw said. ... Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau maintained a poker face
when asked about knee and back injuries that will sideline Cavaliers
F LeBron James for the next two weeks. Thibodeau said, "We're not
feeling sorry for him. We have great respect for their team, but we
have our own issues here."
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