Gasol. Mirotic lead Bulls to win
Jimmy Butler was well-aware his return to the court Monday was far from perfect.
He scored 19 points and played just under 40 minutes, but hit just 6 of 20 shots from the field in the Bulls' 98-86 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center.
"You've kind of got to shoot the rust out," Butler said with a smile. "That's what Pau (Gasol) told me to do. I definitely got them up."
While Butler found his way, the Bulls' Spanish connection carried the offense. Gasol scored 12 of his 27 points in the first quarter, then Nikola Mirotic scored 14 of his 28 in the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Bulls (43-29) clinched a playoff spot for the 10th time in 11 years.
While Butler returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a sprained left elbow, Joakim Noah was a late scratch due to general soreness. It was the second game Noah has skipped in less than two weeks, but he should be back Wednesday when the Bulls visit Toronto.
Knowing Charlotte's Al Jefferson wasn't likely to stray far from the basket, Gasol came out firing midrange jumpers. He added 12 rebounds for his league-leading 47th double-double.
The Hornets were within 86-82 with less than four minutes remaining and missed two chances to get closer. That's when Mirotic took over, hitting a 3-point basket, tossing down a big dunk over Jason Maxiell off a pass from Gasol and then attacking Maxiell to earn a driving lay in and 3-point play. This was the fourth 20-point game in the last five for Mirotic.
"I think he's exceptional, what he's doing," Gasol said of Mirotic. "I think this month has been spectacular; very difficult for a rookie to put up numbers like that."
Butler's return appeared to give a boost to the Bulls' defense. Point guard Kemba Walker scored 29 points, but Charlotte's other scorers had rough shooting nights. Mo Williams went 4-for-16 from the field, Gerald Henderson 3-for-12 and Jefferson 1-for-7. Overall, the Hornets shot 34.6 percent from the field.
"We won, so I don't care what my stats were like," Butler said. "I never do anyway. The shots I normally make are going to come back. I've just got to keep working on my game, get back into a rhythm and I'll be just fine.
"Definitely I'm glad to be back. I've got to get better. I feel like I hurt us in a lot of ways tonight, even though we got the win, don't get me wrong. But I made a lot of mental mistakes that shouldn't have happened."
The Hornets have been a tough matchup for the Bulls, beating them twice in the past month. Since Feb. 7, Charlotte is 2-1 against the Bulls and 6-11 against everyone else.
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