Bulls get the message in win over Denver

When Tom Thibodeau spoke Monday, the Bulls listened.

Actually, it was sort of an indirect message, delivered by the referees. Preseason or not, Thibodeau picked up a technical foul at the 5:45 mark of the second quarter.

A few seconds later, after the technical free throw and a 3-pointer by Danilo Gallinari, the Bulls trailed the Nuggets 50-29. But Thibodeau's technical seemed to flip a switch on the Bulls' defense. They finished the first half with a 29-8 run and eventually rolled to a 110-90 victory at the United Center.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls (2-2) with 21 points. Rookie Doug McDermott scored 16, while Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson had 15 each.

After the game, Thibodeau sent out some more warnings about the pending arrival of the regular season on Oct. 29.

"You're putting yourself in harm's way when you start a game like that," he said. "I keep harping on it: The regular season's going to be here before you know it. We have a lot of guys who aren't sharp right now."

Thibodeau called out Butler, Gibson and Kirk Hinrich as three players who are performing well in preseason.

"We're going to go with the guys who are getting it done," Thibodeau added.

What about McDermott? He brings the outside shooting the Bulls crave and so far hasn't brought along much of the typical rookie sloppiness.

Here's an example: The Bulls traded two picks on draft night to get McDermott from Denver and one of the players acquired by the Nuggets, center Jusuf Nurkic, scored 15 points Monday. Nurkic also fouled out in 14 minutes.

McDermott has been able to keep his fouls and turnovers low, and he's also averaging a respectable 5.5 rebounds during the preseason.

"I'm a player, I like to feel out the game," he said. "I have a pretty good understanding of movement and stuff, so I feel like I can get myself into situations where I can get shots. Coming off screens, they're running some good stuff for me and I'm going to continue to work on those plays."

McDermott is averaging 29 minutes, but Thibodeau wasn't willing to hand out any rookie awards Monday.

"He's got a long way to go and you've got to judge this for what it is, the preseason," Thibodeau said. "This isn't the regular season. The regular season it goes up to another level.

"He's trying to do other things and he's smart. He's finding his way still. I think both he and Niko (Mirotic), they've got the first part down cold: The work part, the attitude part, the approach part. They've got that down. That gives you a chance. Now when they're on the floor, you've got to make sure the team functions well."

When the Bulls fell behind by 21 points, McDermott got things going with a 3-point basket off an offensive rebound by Pau Gasol. Butler had a steal and lay in, then a Gasol block led to another McDermott 3-pointer and the Bulls completed a quick 8-0 run.

The defense and running game continued to shine until Tony Snell's steal and dunk brought the Bulls into a 58-58 tie at halftime.

Mike Dunleavy (3 points, 4 rebounds) was back in the starting lineup after sitting out Saturday's game in Milwaukee. Joakim Noah struggled a bit, with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 fouls in 21 minutes.

Nate is still great:

Denver guard Nate Robinson got a huge ovation from the United Center crowd when he checked in during the third quarter. Fans obviously have fond feelings of Robinson's electric playoff performances for the Bulls in 2013.

Robinson did not disappoint. On his first offensive possession, he picked up a loose ball near midcourt and drained a 45-footer as the shot clock expired.

Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.