Bulls don’t care about style, only winning
Both the Bulls and Toronto were playing their fifth game in six nights Saturday at the United Center.
So the contest was predictably ugly. The Bulls pulled out a 77-64 victory, but it was arguably uglier than the win over Washington earlier this week, which had a similar final score.
As it turns out, the view from the bench was no more pleasant than what the general public saw.
“We feel the same way y’all feel,” Derrick Rose said. “It was ugly, but we’re winning. We don’t have anything to complain about. We’re just trying to get as many wins as possible.”
Yes, the Bulls went 5-0 this week and improved their NBA-best record to 12-2. Rose led the way with 18 points and 11 assists, while playing the entire second half.
Carlos Boozer had 17 points and 13 rebounds. A couple of unlikely heroes — Taj Gibson and John Lucas III — combined to score 17 of the Bulls’ 21 fourth-quarter points.
According to Gibson, the victory featured a little extra effort from coach Tom Thibodeau.
“Thibs, he really turned into the mean guy that not a lot of people know about,” Gibson joked. “He told us to go after it and we’re better than that and guys really stepped up late.”
Asked when Thibodeau turned into Mr. Mean, Gibson offered no specifics and no complaints.
“He said it throughout the game,” Gibson said. “He understands every player’s emotions. He understands what makes guys go. Late in the fourth, he just said, ‘Come on, lock in.’ He told me, ‘Taj, you’re better than that. Let’s go.’”
Joakim Noah, who grabbed 12 rebounds but sat out the fourth quarter because of Toronto’s small lineup, paid tribute to his coach in a different way.
“Thibs is always going to try to get the best out of us, even though he’s never run up and down the court — ever,” Noah said in the locker room. “You’ve just got to go out there and give it everything you’ve got.”
That’s not exactly true. Thibodeau played basketball in college at Division III Salem State in Massachusetts. Noah laughed off that fact and didn’t think Thibodeau turned it up a notch Saturday.
“Thibs is always the same,” Noah added. “He doesn’t change. He’s pretty consistent.”
The Bulls got off to a quick start, leading 21-8 in the first quarter. But the game slowed to a crawl and was tied at 37-37 at halftime.
Thibodeau mixed his lineup at the start of the fourth quarter, and the Bulls unleashed a quick 7-0 run when Lucas canned a 3-pointer and Rose found Gibson for a pair of baskets. The second one put the home team ahead 63-52.
So the Bulls improved to 5-0 at the United Center and continued their defensive mastery, allowing a minuscule 66.8 points per game at home.
Maybe the Bulls should offer the fans a little something extra, like some spare bobbleheads or a free car-warming service. Because these games certainly have not been artistic.
“We’re not concerned with the aesthetics,” said Thibodeau, while pointing out his team has had just one full practice since Christmas. “We just want the wins.”
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com