High intensity for Bulls preseason opener
If anyone was planning to be bored with the Bulls' preseason, a jolt of reality arrived just three minutes into Monday's opening game.
A skirmish involving Paul Pierce, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler helped ring in the new season. There was a second scuffle late in the third quarter when Butler was taken out by a hard screen from Washington's Kevin Seraphin, but no harm was done.
The Bulls received good signs from Derrick Rose and rookie Nikola Mirotic but lost to the Wizards 85-81 at the United Center. The defeat ended the Bulls' 12-game preseason winning streak.
"It was great. I just got all the summer out of me and it feels good to be back on the court," Noah said after the contest.
In the part of the game that mattered most, Rose came out revving his engines and scored 9 points in the opening six minutes. Coming back from a second knee surgery, this was Rose's first game at the United Center in a Bulls uniform since last Nov. 18. He scored on a driving bank shot on his team's first possession.
Rose came back for the final six minutes of the second quarter looking to set up his teammates. He made some nice passes inside, but the Bulls' big men had trouble finishing near the rim.
"He looked like Derrick, doing what he does, making the game look effortless," Butler said. "It was good to have that guy back."
Rose didn't play in the second half and left the locker room quickly without speaking to reporters. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose probably will play Tuesday at Detroit, but Noah, who had his left knee scoped this summer, will not.
The other significant highlight for the Bulls was Mirotic scoring a team-high 17 points. Teammates talked all week about how well the 6-foot-10 forward was playing in camp. The public got to see the real thing Monday.
Mirotic hit 5 of 9 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and grabbed 5 rebounds. At one point, he dribbled the ball up the court, stopped and drained a 3-pointer.
"It's very difficult to explain how I feel," Mirotic said. "It's something normal with basketball, but that was my first 3-point shot here in the United States, so an amazing feeling and I hope I can make more shots like this."
Fellow rookie Doug McDermott (8 points) shot the ball well, but didn't seem as confident as Mirotic, who played high-level basketball in Spain for several years. Backup guard Aaron Brooks also looked good, while Pau Gasol had 8 points and 8 rebounds in his Bulls debut.
"Not bad. I think we obviously have a ways to go," Noah said. "Our legs looked heavy today."
Pierce, playing for the first time with the Wizards, apparently was upset about a non-call and fouled Butler intentionally near midcourt.
Butler took exception, words were exchanged, and Noah stepped in to push Pierce away from Butler and toward the visiting bench. At that point, Pierce reached over Thibodeau and threw his hand in Noah's face and then put up his dukes, like he was ready to take a swing.
Officials looked at the replay but didn't call anything besides a common foul on Pierce.
"It was a hard foul. Then it got out of control," Pierce said. "It just goes to show the tension that has developed between these teams. It's not something that was scripted; it just happened."
In skirmish No. 2, Seraphin set a hard screen at midcourt against Butler, then stood over him after the collision. Butler grabbed Seraphin's leg as he got back on his feet and minor shoving ensued. Seraphin was called for a foul but not a flagrant.
"I guess guys don't like us," Butler said. "I'm cool if they don't like me, I really don't care. They aren't sending no message to me, or us. We're not backing down from anybody. We're fine. We're good."
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