Gordon leads Bulls in Boylan's debut
If Ben Gordon wants to get back in the starting lineup, this isn't the way to do it.
Coming off the bench Friday for the first time since the middle of last season, Gordon scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and helped lead the Bulls to a sloppy but much-needed 103-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center.
When the game ended, Kirk Hinrich hung onto the game ball and presented it to former assistant Jim Boylan, who earned his first win as an NBA head coach. Boylan received the promotion after Scott Skiles was fired Monday.
One of Boylan's first acts as interim coach was to tell Gordon he would return to his old sixth-man role, with point guard Chris Duhon moving into the starting lineup.
"He told me I could count on him and he came through," Boylan said of Gordon. "I have to applaud him for accepting this role and living up to his word."
"Obviously, Gordon got hot," said Milwaukee's Michael Redd, who scored 34 points. "Mr. Fourth Quarter did a great job tonight making plays."
Gordon didn't exactly come off the bench and light things up. It took nearly seven minutes before he scored his first points.
"It took me a little while to get warm and stuff," Gordon said. "But this is a role I've had every year since I've been here. As long as we get a 'W,' I'm going to be happy."
Some of the Bulls suggested they were a little more relaxed Friday after a tumultuous week.
"We can't let Scott take the blame for everything that went on with this team," Ben Wallace said. "Now the rest is on us. Anytime you go out there and play basketball, have a little fun, positive vibes usually follow.
"When everybody's uptight, worrying about the X's and O's or worrying about making mistakes, then you usually make mistakes. Tonight everybody was just loose and playing basketball."
The Bulls (10-17) trailed for most of the second half, then got plenty of help down the stretch. Redd and Andrew Bogut combined to miss 7 free throws in the final 6:20, while Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak handed the Bulls 2 free points when he couldn't control his rage.
The Bulls were up 93-91 with about 1:30 left when Hinrich deflected a pass. Hinrich and Milwaukee's Royal Ivey both dove for the ball near midcourt and it rolled out of bounds on the far baseline.
After a conference, the officials gave possession to the Bulls. Replays showed Hinrich was the last to touch the ball, and when Luol Deng (28 points) tipped in a Gordon miss, Krystkowiak called time out and stormed across the court to angrily confront referee Derrick Collins.
Thanks to the double technical fouls that got Krystkowiak ejected, Gordon hit 2 free throws to stretch the Bulls lead to 97-91 with 1:18 left. Witnesses said Krystkowiak was still cursing and kicking objects all the way to the visitors' locker room. The Bulls outscored Milwaukee 29-7 at the foul line.
The fans were grumbling early, but after the Bulls fell behind 8-2, Boylan chose not to call a timeout and the home team quickly turned things around. They led 28-25 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to 14 points from Deng.