Warriors put on clinic while beating Bulls

Silver linings don't count for anything in the standings, but the Chicago Bulls could uncover a few if they looked deep enough after their 125-94 loss to Golden State on Wednesday night.

For one thing, Derrick Rose outscored Steph Curry in the battle of MVPs, 29-25. Also, the Bulls didn't lose by 34, like Cleveland did Monday.

And even though the current Bulls did nothing to help the cause of the 72-win Bulls, the Warriors remain a game off the pace set by the 1995-96 squad.

Overall, though, the Bulls got a lesson in good basketball from Golden State, which improved to 39-4. The Warriors pushed the tempo, ran a sharp offense and took advantage of their numerous weapons.

"They play the right way," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They move, they cut, they're skilled. They've got all five guys out there who can make a play. It's a team, when you're not playing them, is fun to watch. They play basketball the right way, the way it's supposed to be played; they're constant motion, constant movement."

By pushing the tempo continuously, the Warriors put more pressure on the Bulls' defense than it could handle. Most every possession in the first half, the Bulls were mismatched on defense and when Golden State started cutting and setting picks, the Bulls couldn't keep up.

Then when the Bulls were within striking distance, down 12 late in the third quarter, they reverted to playing hero ball, where the first person to touch the ball shoots it. The no-pass, can't-shoot offense failed miserably and Golden State stretched the lead to 87-63 heading into the fourth quarter. After posting 28 assists Monday at Detroit, the Bulls had just 14 on Wednesday.

"It just shows how bad we can be if we don't guard, if we don't talk, if we don't help each other on both ends of the floor," Jimmy Butler said. "We never want to play like that."

As badly as things went, the Bulls (24-17) could easily have kept this one closer. The normally-reliable Pau Gasol turned in a head-scratcher, going 0-for-8 from the field for 1 point in just 23 minutes. Gasol, Tony Snell and Nikola Mirotic combined to hit 1 of 21 shots from the field.

Meanwhile, the Bulls couldn't hit a 3-point shot to save their lives. They weren't likely to shoot better than Golden State from long range but needed to do better than 1-for-20.

Butler had just 4 points at halftime, then picked up the pace to finish with 23. The only other Bull to fare well offensively was rookie Bobby Portis, who had 16 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Rose got the Bulls off to a good start, hitting 5 of 6 shots for 10 points in the opening six minutes. But chasing Curry around turned out to be a chore, and Rose asked for a rest six minutes into the game. When Rose checked out, the Warriors finished the quarter on a 21-6 run.

"I missed three days (with a sore knee) and I've got to work on my conditioning," Rose said. "It has nothing to do with how I'm feeling. It's just wind and conditioning. I just have to build it back up."

Warriors forward Draymond Green left the game early in the third quarter after being hit in the eye by Taj Gibson, but he returned a few minutes later. Curry led six Warriors in double figures. Klay Thompson added 20 points and Harrison Barnes scored 19.

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