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 The guard saw his teammates sitting quietly with their feet dipped
in ice buckets. He saw a dry-erase board with simple instructions
about the next day's 10 a.m. treatment and noon flight to Toronto.
"Where's the champagne?" Brooks said with a grin.
Chicago has unfinished business before beginning any celebrations.
Most players downplayed wrapping up the franchise's seventh
consecutive playoff berth with 10 games remaining in the regular
season.
"It's cool, but we want to get the highest seed possible," forward
Jimmy Butler said. "We can't settle for where we are right now.
Let's continue to win games."
The Bulls did so Monday night thanks to the continued emergence of
rookie forward Nikola Mirotic, who came off the bench to score 28
points and grab eight rebounds. Forward Pau Gasol added 27 points
and 12 rebounds for Chicago, which won for the third time in four
games.
The Bulls (43-29) also got 19 points and nine rebounds from Butler,
who missed the previous 11 games because of a sprained left elbow.
Guard Kemba Walker led Charlotte (30-39) with 29 points. Guard Mo
Williams added 15 points off the bench for the Hornets, who lost for
the sixth time in eight games.
With the loss and a win by the Celtics over the Brooklyn Nets,
Boston pulled a half-game in front of Charlotte for the final
playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
"We'll see," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said regarding the
playoff race. "We'll have to play our way in."
Charlotte center Al Jefferson left in the third quarter because of a
sore right knee and did not return.
"We competed hard, they competed hard," Williams said. "They just
made more plays. I thought it hurt us a lot when the big guy
(Jefferson) couldn't come back. Down the stretch, we didn't react
well to their switches."
Charlotte pulled within three points early in the fourth quarter
before the Bulls closed the game on a 20-11 run. Mirotic scored 14
points in the final period, including a one-handed dunk against
Hornets forward Jason Maxiell that increased Chicago's lead to nine
points with 1:55 remaining.
Mirotic, who shot 10-for-19 from the field, topped 20 points for the
fourth time in the past five games. He is averaging 23.4 points
during that stretch.
"The dude can play," Butler said. "He's extremely confident right
now. He's a heck of a player, and people are starting to look out
for him now. He does so many things well, and he's helping us win
games late down the stretch."
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Gasol hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with half a second
remaining in the third quarter to give Chicago a 74-69 edge entering
the final 12 minutes. Brooks drove for a floating jump shot and a
layup to spur a 12-4 run midway through the third quarter.
"I thought Pau was great the whole game," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau
said. "You can't say enough about what Pau and Niko have done for us
all season long. We needed everyone."
Charlotte led 49-48 at halftime after closing the second quarter on
a 10-4 run. Neither team led by more than five points during the
half, which included six ties and five lead changes.
Mo Williams and Hornets forward Marvin Williams combined to shoot
5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. Charlotte shot 40
percent (8-for-20) from 3-point range for the game but shot only
34.6 percent (28-for-81) from the field.
The Bulls hit 45.1 percent (37-for-82) from the floor.
A fast start by Gasol helped the Bulls to grab a 28-26 lead at the
end of the first quarter. Gasol hit four consecutive jump shots to
score eight of Chicago's first 10 points, but the Hornets answered
with back-to-back 3-pointers by Marvin Williams to gain a narrow
edge.
NOTES: Bulls F Jimmy Butler was back the first time since March 1,
when he sprained his left elbow against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Bulls went 4-7 without Butler, who earned his first All-Star
selection this season. ... Hornets F/C Cody Zeller missed his second
consecutive game because of right shoulder soreness. Zeller, 22, is
averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in his second season. F Marvin
Williams started in Zeller's place and scored nine points. ...
Chicago C Joakim Noah did not play because of general soreness. ...
Bulls G Derrick Rose (knee) missed his 15th consecutive game and his
26th game of the season. Rose has yet to participate in contact
drills during practice.
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