Gibson returns and Bulls roll
Taj Gibson returned to game action on Friday, which is cause for a major celebration, considering how short-handed the Bulls have been the last few weeks.
Coach Tom Thibodeau made one thing abundantly clear, though - Gibson's return should do nothing to hamper the Nikola Mirotic scoring machine.
Mirotic tied his career-high with 29 points, Joakim Noah matched a career-high with 14 assists, and the Bulls rolled past the Toronto Raptors 108-92 on Friday at the United Center.
Thibodeau sent Mirotic and Gibson into the game together at the 4:03 mark of the first quarter. Pau Gasol stayed on the floor, which meant the 6-foot-10 Mirotic was the small forward, and the Bulls immediately went on a game-changing 14-2 run.
"The challenge for any team is to bring out the best in everybody," Thibodeau said. "It's going to be great getting guys back, that's how we're looking at it."
The Bulls (42-28) are still missing their two leading scorers, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose. The Raptors had injury issues of their own. Point guard Kyle Lowry didn't play because of a sore back.
With the win, the Bulls moved a half-game ahead of Toronto (41-28) into third place in the Eastern Conference standings, 2½ games behind second-place Cleveland. The Bulls now lead the season series against the Raptors 3-0 and the teams meet again on Wednesday in Ontario.
Gibson missed 10 games with a sprained left ankle. Less than a minute after checking into Friday's game, he threw down a two-handed alley-oop dunk off a pass from Gasol. Overall, Gibson contributed 6 points and 3 rebounds in 10 minutes.
"I didn't really have any wind," Gibson said. "I was just playing, just running out there trying to help the team however I can, but my wind was not right."
No matter. Mirotic not only took care of the scoring, he added 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. The rookie from Montenegro led the Bulls in scoring for the sixth time in the last 11 games. He's averaged 27 points over the last three.
"It's been a great run for him and it's effortless for him right now," Thibodeau said. "He's scoring the ball so easily and he's playing the three, the four. It just opens up the floor for everyone else."
Mirotic went 3-for-11 from 3-point range on Friday, but 8-for-10 inside the arc. Coming from high-level European experience with Real Madrid, Mirotic has shown clever scoring skills and is very impressive when he puts the ball on the floor and blows past defenders.
"I'm trying to play a little bit different, not just catch and shoot," Mirotic said. "Right now, it's a big adjustment for me. I'm playing a little bit different, playing at position three. Right now, I'm playing well but the most important thing is the team getting back to playing great basketball."
For his part, Mirotic has a great appreciation for how Noah has piled up assists in recent weeks while Rose is sidelined.
"That's awesome. The best big guy I see passing the ball ever," Mirotic said. "Sometimes he makes difficult pass, dangerous … but it's a layup for us. It's really special to play with him. He's the spirit of our team."
The Bulls play again Saturday in Detroit. Thibodeau said Butler will make the trip, but it seems unlikely he'll return from a left elbow sprain.