Without Butler, Bulls can't pull off victory in Houston
The Bulls passed the gut-check test on Friday, but couldn't finish off a short-handed road victory in Houston.
All-star starter Jimmy Butler was a late scratch with a right heel contusion, the Bulls fell behind by 17 points in the second quarter, then led by 8 with 2:46 remaining. But they didn't score for the rest of regulation, and lost to the Rockets 121-117 in overtime.
“If we compete like that, if our guys continue to play together, we're going to be just fine,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said after the contest.
Hoiberg made a couple of decision that paid off in this one. With Houston focused on its long-range offense, Hoiberg started Michael Carter-Williams in place of Butler. He's the former starting point guard who hadn't played at all in four of the previous five games.
Carter-Williams played like a guy who is anxious to get back in the lineup. He finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists — season-highs in all three categories. He also had a number of clutch baskets down the stretch.
Hoiberg also decided to ride the inside advantage, using Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez against Houston's smaller lineups. Gibson took advantage by scoring 20 points and the Bulls built a 14-8 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Bulls (25-26) did a respectable job against Rockets star James Harden, using mostly Carter-Williams and Paul Zipser. Harden hit just 13 of 33 shots from the field, but he got some important calls down the stretch, went 11-for-14 at the foul line and barely missed a triple-double with 42 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
Harden hit the game-winning 18-foot jumper over Zipser with 36.1 seconds left in overtime. After the shot, Harden fell backward and drew the foul, though contact was tough to spot on replays. The 3-point play sent Houston ahead 119-117. Doug McDermott missed a 3-pointer on the other end and some Harden free throws sealed it.
In the fourth quarter, Harden missed 2 free throws with 6:21 left, giving the Bulls possession with a 4-point lead. They missed their first chance to score, but Carter-Williams hit a driving lay in, then Dwyane Wade finished a drive and big one-hand dunk to make it 101-93 with 4:52 remaining.
The teams traded baskets, but the Bulls went cold after a Zipser jumper made it 108-100 with 2:46 remaining. A Clint Capela dunk off a pass from Harden brought the Rockets within 2 points with 59.9 seconds on the clock.
The Bulls turned it over on their next trip and Harden hit a step back over Carter-Williams, with help of a little forearm shove to clear space.
After the Bulls fell behind by 5 points in overtime, Carter-Williams tied the score by rebounding his own missed free throw and hitting a jumper. But a few seconds later, Carter-Williams fouled out when he tried to front Harden, ended up with the Rockets guard falling on top of him and was called for the foul.
The Bulls have two days off and Hoiberg is hopeful Butler will be ready to play against Sacramento on Monday.
“He went out there, he was having trouble putting pressure on that foot, so we decided to play it safe and sit him tonight,” Hoiberg told reporters. “We'll see how he is tomorrow. We'll make the determination probably game-time before Sacramento.”
• Follow Mike's Bulls reports on Twitter @McGrawDHBulls.