Butler carries Bulls past Wizards
Dwyane Wade has lived this life already. Now he's trying to enjoy the role of pushing Jimmy Butler into NBA stardom.
Butler piled up 37 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds as the Bulls put away a short-handed Washington Wizards squad 106-95 on Saturday at the United Center.
This was the second time in three games Butler scored at least 37 points. He had 39 on Wednesday in Atlanta.
“He's leading us. He's doing what me and Rondo came here for him to do,” Wade said. “That's to really turn into a premier, premier player in this league. He's really done it this past week. He's really been doing everything. He's defending the other team's best guy. He's rebounding, he's passing. His scoring's been aggressive. That's what you do when you're 27 years old. He's good.”
Butler hit 11 of 23 shots from the field and all 14 of his free throws. The Bulls sometimes struggle when they don't get balanced scoring, but Nikola Mirotic came on late to finish with 17 points, while Wade had 14.
The bad news Saturday was Doug McDermott leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after falling hard to the floor. He'll be in concussion protocol for the second time this season. He missed the Nov. 2 game at Boston with a concussion.
McDermott drove the baseline and went up for a dunk when he was hit on the off arm by Washington's Markieff Morris. McDermott was knocked off balance, fell hard on his left side and hit his head on the floor.
He got to his feet fairly quickly and stood at midcourt while referees studied the video. But once a flagrant foul on Morris was announced, McDermott walked to the locker room and did not shoot the free throws.
“He wanted to shoot the free throws, but we got him out of there to get him in the back and be safe and hopefully he'll be back soon,” coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Washington played without its usual starting backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Wall, who had two knee surgeries in May, rested on the second leg of back-to-back games, while Beal missed his second game with a hamstring issue. The Wizards started two rookie guards, Tomas Satoransky and Sheldon McClellan.
The Bulls (6-4) didn't start well, falling behind 21-9, but Butler got rolling quickly. In the locker room, he was asked about having to carry the team.
“I don't consider that carrying,” Butler said. “I consider that making some shots and doing what they need me to do. That's being aggressive. D-Wade always tells me to come out with energy.”
Wade was much more effusive about Butler's performance. Already a two-time all-star, Butler is averaging 24.3 points and 4.2 assists through 10 games.
“For me, it's just about teaching him little things I know to help him as a scorer, to be even more efficient and more effective,” Wade said. “Me and him talk a lot about different ways he can get his shot off. It's just about him now understanding how good he is and really taking that next step to stardom.
“He's right in the prime of his career. My job and Rondo's job and everyone's job is to get the best out of him. Right now, we're seeing and he's seeing how great he can be. You look at (DeMar) DeRozan in Toronto, he's taken that next step. And Jimmy is at that point where he can do that. We want him to keep that confidence up.”
This was the Bulls final home game for 18 days. They'll leave Monday for the six-game circus road trip, which begins in Portland.
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