|
 The Chicago Bulls guard instead shifted credit to Pau Gasol and
Nikola Mirotic while ignoring the fact that his scoring burst in the
third quarter set the stage for his late selflessness to prove
effective.
With Butler assisting, Mirotic drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer inside
the final three minutes, and the Bulls rallied from a 14-point
deficit to stun the Houston Rockets 103-100 Thursday night at Toyota
Center.
Mirotic finished with a game-high 28 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
His corner 3-pointer with 2:56 left gave the Bulls the lead for good
at 92-91. Butler (21 points) followed with a dunk, and E'Twaun Moore
made a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 97-91 with 1:30 to play.
Butler also assisted on the Moore 3-pointer, and after scoring 13 of
the Bulls' 19 points in the third quarter, posted half of his
team-high six assists in the fourth to steer the Chicago offense
through the comeback.
 "It's really simple: dribble, shoot when you're open and pass it
when you're not," Butler said. "It also helps to have a big like Pau
who can also pass and Niko making shots. I really just have the easy
job. When I'm doubled or just not open, pass it to them."
Said Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg: "Jimmy was terrific. We put the ball
in his hands."
The Rockets (37-39) shot a measly 6-for-21 in the fourth quarter,
with two of their baskets coming via desperation 3-pointers inside
the final 17.5 seconds. However, even after their offense stagnated,
the Rockets had a chance to force overtime before Trevor Ariza
missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
James Harden, who buried a trey with 10.5 seconds left, played the
entire second half and posted 24 points and eight assists. His
backcourt partner, Patrick Beverley, hit the first late 3-pointer
and tallied a career-high 22 points while adding five rebounds and
seven assists.
Before Beverley and Harden converted late, Michael Beasley scored
every Houston basket in the fourth. Beasley finished with 20 points
and 11 boards off the bench.
"(We) stopped moving, stopped pushing, stopped playing with pace,"
Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the fourth-quarter
collapse. "The things that we're successful at, the way we built the
lead, we stopped doing. We got in a rut; we couldn't find a way to
dig ourselves out of it."
Pau Gasol, the only other Bulls starter in double figures beside
Butler, totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds for his 500th career
double-double.
[to top of second column] |
What was a blistering start to a 13-4 lead deteriorated quickly for
Houston, which followed by missing nine consecutive shots to set the
stage for the Bulls to find some footing. Butler and Gasol led the
initial push, but by the close of the first, Mirotic had warmed to
scalding levels.
After scoring seven points in the first quarter, including five at
the free-throw line, Mirotic caught fire in the second, drilling
four mid-period 3-pointers that pushed Chicago to a 45-43 lead. When
the Rockets failed to locate Mirotic on the defensive end as the
half drew to a close, he sank a 21-footer with 17.1 seconds left to
even things at 52.
Mirotic ended the half with 21 points.
In the third quarter, Butler shouldered the scoring load to lift the
Bulls (38-37) from the depths after Beverley sparked Houston to a
14-point lead. Beverley capped his flurry with a shot-clock-beating
3-pointer for a 71-57 Rockets lead.
Butler responded by keeping Chicago close. When the Rockets cratered
in the fourth, Butler and Mirotic proved poised to pounce.
"It just didn't end the way we wanted to or we needed to," Harden
said. "We started off the (fourth) quarter with a nine-point lead.
The offense kind of got stagnant and we didn't get stops and we
weren't able to get out in transition. It kind of staggered us a
little bit."
NOTES: Bulls F Taj Gibson was sidelined with a rib fracture he
sustained against Orlando on March 26. He played the following game
against Atlanta but departed early against Indiana on Tuesday night.
The Bulls were noncommittal on how long he might be sidelined. ...
Rockets F K.J. McDaniels might have landed a spot in rotation thanks
in part to his improving defense. He entered Thursday having played
13 and 16 minutes in the last two games, but he didn't get off the
bench against Chicago. ... Bulls G Derrick Rose showed improvement
in his left elbow he hyperextended Tuesday night against the Pacers
during shootaround Thursday morning, but he logged 12 scoreless
minutes before sitting out the entire second half with lingering
discomfort in the joint.
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