Wade a game-time decision; Valentine out with ankle sprain
Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said Dwyane Wade felt better Tuesday and likely will be a game-time decision when the Bulls visit Cleveland on Wednesday.
Wade missed Monday's 118-111 victory over Charlotte because of swelling in his left knee. He did not participate in Tuesday's light practice at the United Center.
"He's feeling better. His swelling is down," Hoiberg said. "We'll make a determination on him tomorrow for the game. It will probably be all the way up until gametime."
Hoiberg said rookie forward Denzel Valentine will not make the trip to Cleveland. After setting a career high with 9 points against Charlotte, Valentine turned his ankle in the third quarter and left the game.
A prognosis on Valentine's injury was not available, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he's out for a few weeks. Valentine stepped on the foot of a Charlotte defender while leading a fastbreak and rolled his left ankle sideways.
A similar injury to the same ankle kept him out for three weeks during the preseason.
"We did film and some defensive work, went through a good healthy dose of our offense," Hoiberg said. "It was a good day.
"We feel we got some work in. We had a couple guys who didn't do much, including Dwyane. … Jimmy (Butler) didn't do much either because he's tired."
Butler, of course, scored a season-high 52 points against the Hornets.
MCW backs up Butler:
After Monday's victory, Jimmy Butler claimed he didn't know how many points he had until teammate Michael Carter-Williams filled him in late in the contest.
Many were skeptical, but Carter-Williams supported Butler's story Tuesday.
"No, it's true because he had 49 (points) and there was a (technical) free throw and I was like, 'Jim, I've got this one, you're good,' " he said.
"And I was just messing with him and he was like, 'All right, go ahead,' like if you want to get going a little bit. But I was like, 'No, you have 49 points. Obviously I want you to get 50.'
"It's actually true, yeah."
Even when pressed on the story, Carter-Williams insisted it was legit. The technical foul happened with 15.1 seconds on the clock, while Carter-Williams already was at the line to shoot 2 free throws.
Carter-Williams said even when he stepped to the line pretending to shoot the technical, Butler was unfazed.
"He stepped away from the line and was like, 'Go ahead,'" Carter-Williams said. "I thought he was playing with me, so I walked up to the line and he didn't say anything and I was like, 'Come on bro, you've got 49.'"
Butler hit the technical to reach 50 points, then tacked on 2 more free throws with 7.1 seconds left to get to 52. Butler scored 17 of the Bulls' last 21 points, while Carter-Williams had the other 4.
Butler scoring milestones:
Here are some details about Jimmy Butler's 52-point performance against Charlotte:
He set a new high in the NBA this season for free throws made in a game. Butler went 21-for-22 at the foul line.
Houston's James Harden had the previous high with 18 free throws made, while Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins also had 22 free-throw attempts in a game.
Butler's 21-for-22 at the foul line is a United Center record, breaking marks set by Ben Gordon, who went 19-for-21 against New Jersey on April 1, 2006.
The Bulls' record for free throws in a game is held by Michael Jordan, who went 26-for-27 against the Nets on Feb. 26, 1987.
Butler is the first person besides Jordan to record two 50-point games in a Bulls uniform. Butler scored 53 at Philadelphia last season.
Jordan scored at least 50 points 38 times. The only other 50-point games by a Bulls player was Chet Walker's 56 points in 1972, while Jamal Crawford scored 50 at Toronto in 2004.