Butler delivers triple-double to lead Bulls past Sixers
Somehow, someway, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg needs to make the Brooklyn Nets appear terrifying.
When the Bulls are properly motivated, they tend to do fine. They got back on track Thursday with a 102-90 victory over Philadelphia, and knew to take the game seriously because the Bulls just lost to the 76ers at the United Center less than two weeks ago.
Jimmy Butler produced his fourth career triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Nikola Mirotic had a hot hand, scoring 22 points and going 6 of 8 from 3-point range.
With the victory, the Bulls (39-40) remained in seventh place in the East with three games remaining. But they are still tied with Indiana and just a half-game ahead of Miami. While the Bulls own tiebreakers over both teams, they can't afford any slip-ups.
That's where a threatening image of the Nets might come in handy. Two of the Bulls last three games are against Brooklyn, beginning Saturday at the Barclays Center. The Nets own the NBA's worst record at 19-60, but have gone 6-4 over their last 10 games and have no reason to tank, since their first-round pick already belongs to Boston in the costly Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett trade.
The chance to make the playoffs should be enough motivation for the Bulls, but they've lost focus plenty of times this season, including Tuesday when they lost to the short-handed New York Knicks.
Against Philadelphia, the Bulls got off to a fast start and had some shaky moments, but were essentially in control the whole way. The bench played well, with Joffrey Lauverge scoring 14 points and Bobby Portis adding 12.
"The big thing is when you get that lead, I'd love one night to push that thing up to 25 and be able to rest some of the guys a little bit," Hoiberg told reporters after the game. "We can't be satisfied. We've got to go into Brooklyn with the mindset we've got to battle right from the beginning. It's a team that's playing really well right now."
Rajon Rondo sat out because of a sprained right wrist suffered in the loss to the Knicks. His status for the Brooklyn game is questionable.
Jerian Grant started in Rondo's place and did a nice job, considering he hasn't played much recently. Grant finished with 15 points, his first double-figure scoring night since Mar. 8. Grant hadn't played at all in eight of the previous 12 games.
"To fill those (Rondo) shoes isn't easy, but I thought Jerian played a real solid game tonight," Hoiberg said.
Grant's playmaking skills are often questioned and Hoiberg mentioned the Bulls started the game with Butler at point guard and Grant on the wing, but Grant did collect 5 assists against the Sixers.
"(Butler) could have very easily had 15 or 16 assists tonight," Hoiberg said. "He got our guys some wide-open shots that we just didn't knock down. It's been really impressive to see the growth, Jimmy with the ball in his hands."
The Bulls are now 1 game behind sixth-place Milwaukee, but would lose a tiebreaker to the Bucks. So they'd need Milwaukee to lose twice to have any chance to move higher in the standings.
Dwyane Wade could be seen getting some shots up after the morning shootaround, but Hoiberg said Wade was given a recovery day after joining a full-contact scrimmage Wednesday. Wade has been out since Mar. 15 with a right elbow sprain and hairline fracture.
"He's got soreness, obviously, with his first full practice," Hoiberg told reporters. "General soreness. More in his legs honestly than his elbow."
The plan is for Wade to practice again Friday and then a determination will be made on whether he's ready to return. There seems to be optimism all around Wade will play before the regular season ends on Wednesday.
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