Rose in the zone; Butler snaps shooting slump
This is one way to break out of a slump.
The Bulls knocked down 13 of 25 shots from 3-point range to outscore Boston 119-103 on Friday at the TD Garden.
After losing four of their previous five games, the Bulls were reeling in just about every facet. And they played without Joakim Noah, who suffered a right ankle injury in Wednesday's loss to Washington.
"I thought the energy was great," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game. "It was probably one of the best games we've played."
Derrick Rose led the charge with 29 points, but that tells only a portion of the story. Rose hit 12 of 20 shots overall, made 5 of 8 from 3-point range, dished out 10 assists and finished with no turnovers. He was also credited with 2 blocked shots.
"I thought he was so aggressive tonight from the start - dribble penetration, making the right play, passing the ball, breaking the defense down, forcing them to react," Thibodeau said. "Then I thought that was by far his best defensive game. When he does that, it's huge for us."
Rose tied his career high Wednesday by draining 6 baskets from 3-point range. So in his last two contests. Rose has gone 11-for-17 from 3-point range, while hitting 24 of 42 shots overall.
Jimmy Butler snapped out of his shooting slump against the Celtics, hitting 10 of 19 shots for 22 points. He also recorded a career-high 6 steals. In the previous five games, Butler shot just below 30 percent from the field.
Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Aaron Brooks scored 15 points off the bench. Thibodeau used just eight players. Tony Snell, who started the previous two games, didn't play at all. The Bulls started Kirk Hinrich, with Rose, Butler, Gasol and Taj Gibson.
Even though he was in street clothes, Noah made his way into the box score by getting a technical foul with 4:34 left in the third quarter. Thibodeau also was given a technical foul.
The Bulls (27-14) finished the season series against Boston winning three of four games. Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with 20 points.
The Bulls led just 88-86 at the end of three, before outscoring Boston 31-17 in the fourth quarter. They hit 7 of 9 shots from 3-point range in the fourth - 3 by Rose, and 2 each from Brooks and E'Twaun Moore.
"They're a very good offensive team and I thought we challenged shots well, I thought our ball pressure was good," Thibodeau said. "We didn't rebound the ball as well as we would have liked, but I thought we did a lot of good things."
Keep in mind, Boston is a losing team that traded away leading scorer Jeff Green last week. On Saturday, the Bulls will take on the NBA's hottest team.
With a 21-point win at Toronto on Friday, the Atlanta Hawks have now won 11 games in a row and 25 of their last 27. They'll arrive at the United Center on Saturday with a five-game lead in the East over second-place Washington. The Bulls and Toronto are5 ½ games back.
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