Wade saves the day after Chicago Bulls blow big lead at Sacramento
After two days off, the Chicago Bulls seemed re-energized when they took the floor in Sacramento on Monday night, even though top scorer Jimmy Butler missed his second straight game with a right-heel contusion.
The Bulls jumped to an early 27-9 lead, fought off a Kings comeback in the second quarter and opened up an 82-55 advantage with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
It should have been easy, but the same could have been said about the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl.
Sacramento came all the way back and tied the score on a DeMarcus Cousins lane drive with 30.8 seconds left. But Dwyane Wade saved the day for the Bulls, first by hitting an 18-foot pullup jumper with 13 seconds left to put the Bulls ahead. After the Kings called timeout, Wade jumped in front of the inbound pass for a steal and slam that sealed the 112-107 victory at the new Golden 1 Center.
Wade led the Bulls with 31 points, while Michael Carter-Williams added 21 and Robin Lopez scored 17. The Bulls (26-26) improved to 2-1 on the ice-show road trip.
The first time Sacramento got within 2 points in the fourth quarter, the Bulls had an answer. A Lopez jumper and Carter-Williams free throws put the visitors up 105-99 with 1:39 remaining.
The Kings' Matt Barnes hit a 3-pointer, but Wade answered with a long jumper to make it 107-102. On the next trip, Cousins drained a 3-pointer and the Kings got the ball back when Ty Lawson tied up Carter-Williams and won the jump ball.
Cousins drove the lane, scored and drew the sixth foul on Taj Gibson. But with a chance to complete the 3-point play and put Sacramento ahead, Cousins missed the free throw, setting up Wade's heroics.
A story line for the next two weeks will be whether the Bulls make any deals to try to help the playoff push. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 23.
Butler has been mentioned in trade rumors going back to last summer. The chances of the Bulls' best player being moved in the next two weeks are pretty slim. Butler talked about his situation Monday at the morning shootaround.
"Nothing surprises me nowadays," Butler told reporters, according to csnchicago.com. "You know that. I'm not surprised by anything. Anything is possible. It's a business at the end of the day. I love it here. They (Bulls management) know that. The city knows that."
Butler wasn't sure when he will be ready to return. He placed the pain in his heel at a 6 or 7 on a scale from 1 to 10. Cristiano Felicio also missed Monday's game with a leg strain. The Bulls play the Golden State Warriors for the first time this season Wednesday at Oracle Arena.
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