Bulls suffer third-quarter blues
The Bulls' biggest issue during a 103-94 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday was a miserable third-quarter performance.
After building a 10-point lead at halftime, the Bulls were outscored 37-12 in the third quarter when the Spurs shot a ridiculous 71.4 percent from the field. In the other three quarters, the Bulls outscored San Antonio by 16 points.
“Anytime you put a team down like that, you've got to end it,” said Bulls forward Luol Deng. “You can't let them come back. The momentum wasn't in our favor the whole second half.”
The Spurs changed their lineup at the start of the third quarter, using sharpshooter Matt Bonner at power forward instead of the burly DaJuan Blair. Bonner knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and is 10-for-12 from long range this season.
But Bonner's presence may have created more lanes for his teammates to drive. The Spurs seemed to get to the basket on most every possession, while the Bulls missed a variety of outside shots.
“We're going to look at film, go over it and next time we're going to have some plays where guys are forced to go to the basket,” Derrick Rose said.
Rose changes positions:
During a futile fourth-quarter comeback, the Bulls tried using Derrick Rose and C.J. Watson together in the backcourt.
“We tried to put more shooting on the floor ourselves, just to spread things out, let Derrick play some two and see if we could get things going that way,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. “I thought it helped us some.”
Watson was on the floor when Rose scored 9 quick points on a series of long-range jumpers.
“At that time, we couldn't get the groove going, so I tried to spark something up,” Rose said. “We had it going for a minute and that team is too good. They stopped it.”
Duncan snaps personal lull:
Spurs star Tim Duncan had produced single-digit scoring totals in three straight games for the first time in his NBA career, but he ended that streak against the Bulls, finishing with 16 points and 18 rebounds.
After the game, Joakim Noah took some blame for the Bulls' uneven interior defense.
“There are a lot of things I've got to fix,” Noah said. “I'm not happy with the way I played. Just be ready to go next game. I've got to do a better job of clogging up the paint and making sure there's no dribble penetration.”
Four Bulls on ballot:
The Bulls placed four players on the NBA all-star ballot: Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.
Voting for the all-star starters began Thursday. The all-star game will be held Feb. 20 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Fans can vote Online at bulls.com/votebulls, at the United Center or with mobile phones by texting the player's last name to 69622.