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Butler a bit banged up in Bulls win

In the locker room after the Bulls' latest preseason win, Jimmy Butler struggled while trying to awkwardly put his socks on with one hand.

Butler's left hand was unavailable because it was wrapped in a brace, victim of a sprained thumb during the first quarter of Sunday's 101-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center.

It's too soon to tell how long he'll be out, but Butler is almost a certain scratch from Monday's meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Columbus, Ohio. His next chance to guard LeBron James will likely be in the home opener on Oct. 31.

Monday's game means nothing, but rates high on the curiosity scale. The Bulls and Cavs are almost universally expected to be the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Assuming everyone plays, it will be the first chance for the Bulls to see how James meshes with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

"I like to see all 29 teams in person. They're the next one, so I am very curious," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They're a good team and we know that. For us, we have to keep our focus on getting ourselves ready and building and improving and being sharp."

So far during the preseason, James has been the Cavs' fourth-leading scorer, after Irving (19.5 points), Love (15.8) and Dion Waiters (15.2). Waiters leads the team in shot attempts, while Love has made 10 of 17 shots from 3-point range.

Thibodeau coached Irving this summer with Team USA. Irving and Derrick Rose shared minutes at the point guard spot for the gold-medal winning squad at the FIBA World Cup.

"(The Cavaliers) have got a lot of weapons," Thibodeau said. "Even before everything was done (over the summer), they had some very promising young players."

The Bulls players refused to get too excited about a preseason game, even if it is against the new-look Cavs. Training camp is a time for self-improvement, after all.

"We'll see them 12 days from now," Pau Gasol said. "That's the game we want to be ready for. (Today) will be a good preseason test."

It took Joakim Noah a few seconds to muster any thoughts about the game.

"Back-to-back preseason games," he said. "Go to Ohio State, should be cool. Play Cleveland, that's always fun."

Thursday's fourth straight victory featured the first fourth-quarter minutes for Rose in the preseason. He played the final 7:22 of the contest and finished with 17 points in 28 total minutes.

Rose has been progressing slowly, coming back from his second knee surgery last November. But there have been no red flags as of yet. He looks healthy and athletic as always. It's just a matter of getting the timing back on shots and passes.

"He looked comfortable out there," Thibodeau said. "We wanted to build up (minutes) and he's doing that. He's practicing great right now, so it's good."

There was another unexpected offensive outburst in this game. On Thursday, Butler brought the surprise scoring with 29 points. This time it was Kirk Hinrich, who scored 26 points while hitting 11 of 14 attempts from the field.

"I feel like I've been shooting really good in camp," Hinrich said. "It hasn't necessarily carried over into games I got some good open looks tonight, was able to knock them down and started rolling.

"I thought tonight was good. It was really the first time we looked like we were comfortable with each other, especially the second unit."

Gasol (15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) played well. Backup point guard Aaron Brooks (13 points in 15 minutes) was another offensive spark. Mike Dunleavy (7 points) returned to the starting lineup after missing a game with a sore knee.

Butler was lost late in the first quarter, though, when he reached out to deflect a pass. When his left thumb struck the ball, he quickly recoiled in pain. Later, Butler said the thumb bent the wrong way.

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Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah, right, is fouled while going up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Marvin Williams (2) during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014. Chicago won 101-96. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty) Associated Press
Chicago Bulls' Kirk Hinrich (12), goes up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Kemba Walker (15), during the second half of a NBA preseason basketball game in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014. Chicago won 101-96. Associated Press
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