Butler, Bulls close Circus Trip with win over Nets

With Kevin Garnett putting off retirement, Joakim Noah has been able to enjoy sort of an extended last laugh.

The Bulls dominated Garnett's Brooklyn Nets 102-84 on Sunday at the Barclays Center. The video clip that will be widely circulated is Garnett pretending to bite Noah's hand as the two jockeyed for position.

After the game, Garnett told reporters he wasn't trying to bite Noah and jokingly referenced infamous ear-biter Mike Tyson. The video seemed to confirm this. It was just Garnett being Garnett, probably annoyed with both Noah and the scoreboard.

“I know how to bite somebody,” Garnett said in the Nets' locker room. “Obviously I was messing around in that moment. If I wanted to bite him, I'd have just … shout out to Mike Tyson.”

Noah has been on the losing end of many battles with Garnett, so he appreciates the chance to turn the tables on the 38-year-old former all-star.

“That's crazy, man. It's unbelievable. Kevin Garnett tried to bite me, man,” Noah said, according to espn.com. “It's unbelievable. I don't even know what to say. … I'm happy he didn't connect.

“I have fun playing against him when we win. We've been doing some winning against him lately, so I know how competitive he is and I know it drives him crazy to lose like that, so we've just got to keep doing what we're doing.

“I'm not worried about Kevin Garnett, I'm just worried about us.”

Garnett's antics shouldn't obscure a strong performance by the Bulls.

For defense and rebounding, this might be the best they've played this season. The Bulls finished with a 50-34 advantage on the boards and limited the Nets to 37.2 percent shooting.

The Bulls (11-6) finished the circus road trip with a winning record (4-3), something they've done only one other time since the championship era ended. They also went 4-3 in 2010-11, on the way to 62 wins.

This game offered more evidence of how the Bulls can be an elite team when at full strength. The only player missing was Taj Gibson with a sprained left ankle.

His absence has allowed rookie Nikola Mirotic the chance to get valuable minutes. The 6-foot-10 Mirotic had 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench against Brooklyn.

Jimmy Butler capped a fantastic first month of the season by scoring 26 points. He will head into December averaging 21.9 points — 10th best in the league. He's shooting just under 50 percent from the field overall and ranks third in the league in free-throw attempts per game, at 8.8.

Butler went 11-for-13 at the foul line Sunday, improving to 39-for-45 over the last three games.

Pau Gasol, meanwhile, added 25 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Rose scored 14 points in 26 minutes. Noah grabbed 10 rebounds but finished with just 3 points.

Leading 47-42 at halftime, the Bulls pushed the lead to 15 points midway through the third quarter, and the Nets never made a serious run. Bojan Bogdanovic led Brooklyn with 13 points. Garnett finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

“Every time we've played, there's always something,” Garnett said of Noah. “But I respect the guy, respect the Bulls … everybody over there. I respect everyone in this league.”

The Bulls have some interesting tests ahead.

The first game back at the United Center is Tuesday against Dallas. Golden State, one of the best in the West, visits Saturday, while Portland is in town next week.

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