Barkley sharply rebukes D-Rose

Bulls guard Derrick Rose had more assists (6) than turnovers (5) in Thursday's double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

That ratio is much better than his 1-assist, 11-turnover game at Golden State two days earlier. Still, it's been a tough week for the former MVP.

He took 33 shots and scored 30 points in a huge victory over the Warriors.

But against the Lakers, Rose couldn't find the rim. He hit 7 of 26 shots for 17 points as the Bulls suffered a bad loss against a team riding a nine-game losing streak.

The task only got tougher Friday. The Bulls tried to stay competitive, but gave up a 14-0 run early in the second quarter and that ultimately was the different as they lost 99-93 to the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Arena.

Rose led the Bulls with 23 points and finished some tough drives, but had just 2 assists. Jimmy Butler added 22 points. Pau Gasol grabbed 19 rebounds, but was 0-for-5 from the foul line.

Aaron Brooks' lay-in brought the Bulls within 95-93 with 31 seconds left. But the Bulls couldn't the defensive stop. Suns guard Eric Bledsoe finished a drive over Joakim Noah with 10.2 seconds on the clock.

The Bulls did have all players available Friday, except for Mike Dunleavy, who missed his 16th straight game with a right ankle injury.

The first two games of the ice show road trip featured a total of 3 overtimes, 1 spectacular win over the league's best team and a horrendous loss to one of the worst. Rose took 59 shots in the two contests, including 19 from behind the 3-point line, and shot just 34 percent.

After the loss to the Lakers, TNT analyst Charles Barkley had some pointed advice for Rose.

"Derrick Rose is still playing like the old Derrick Rose," Barkley said. "He's got to learn that he is not the same guy. He has to learn to play with Jimmy Butler. You are a great player when you play with other great players. You shouldn't try to do too much. He has to realize he's not the MVP anymore."

For most of the Golden State game, Rose was an efficient scorer and kept the Bulls within striking distance. As the game dragged on, Rose resorted to launching some ill-advised long-range shots.

In both contests, Rose didn't do a great job of setting up his teammates. Well into his comeback season, Rose has been brilliant at times, but still has nights when he dribbles into trouble or tosses too many high-risk passes.

"You have to adjust. He can't shoot 33 times," Barkley said. "It was like when he was a one-man crew. But, in my opinion, Jimmy Butler is the best player on the team and (Rose) is also playing with the best offensive big man he's ever had (Gasol)."

After being selected as an Eastern Conference all-star reserve Thursday, Butler erupted for 35 points against the Lakers, hitting 9 of 17 shots along with 16 of 18 free throws. Gasol scored 20 against this former team.

Butler found out about the all-star selection early in the day, which gave him a chance to inform some family members in person.

"They were much more excited than I was because I had known for a couple of hours," Butler said, according to bulls.com. "They probably gave me a thousand hugs and said congratulations. My trainer Chris (Johnson), he put it in my head over the summer. He was like, 'That's the first step. You want to be an all-star.' So I started thinking about it way earlier than the beginning of the season or a month ago."

Heading into Thursday's contest, the Lakers had lost nine in a row and were missing their top two scorers, Kobe Bryant (torn rotator cuff) and Nick Young (ankle). The Bulls fell behind early and needed a miracle comeback to force overtime. Trailing 98-89 with 1:29 left, Butler scored the next 7 points before a Gasol tip in tied the score with 11 seconds left.

In the first overtime, the Bulls took a 5-point lead and had chances to stretch the advantage, but couldn't get it done. They seemed to have nothing left for the second overtime.

The Bulls took a beating on the boards most of the night. The Lakers' final rebound advantage was 54-49, but Los Angeles piled up 30 second-chance points, a season-high for a Bulls opponent.

"One of these days we're going to get tired of getting our butts kicked and decide to play defense," Butler told reporters after the game. "We've just to look at (ourselves) in the mirror," Joakim Noah said. "I've got to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'You know what, I've got to do better.'"

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