Bulls seal playoff berth as Mirotic catches fire

Bulls Top Hornets

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CHICAGO — Nikola Mirotic scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls clinched a playoff spot with a 98-86 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Pau Gasol had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago moved into a tie with Toronto for third place in the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler added 19 points in his return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a sprained left elbow.

The Bulls played without center Joakim Noah, who was scratched because of general soreness, but managed to bounce back from an ugly 107-91 loss at Detroit on Saturday.

Kemba Walker had 29 points and Mo Williams scored 15 for the Hornets, who were without Cody Zeller (right shoulder) and shot just 34.6 percent from the field.

Charlotte has lost four of five to fall out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets are a half-game back of Boston, which beat Brooklyn 110-91 on Monday night.

Gasol made a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Bulls a 74-69 lead heading into the final period. Mirotic had a big 3 with 2:33 to go, and then dunked over Jason Maxiell with 1:55 remaining to increase Chicago’s lead to nine.

Mirotic was 10 for 19 from the field and also had eight rebounds in 31½ minutes. The 6-foot-10 rookie is averaging 21 points per game in March, helping Chicago stay in contention despite another rash of injuries.

Butler played 40 minutes in his first game since he was injured March 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers, but Noah was replaced in the starting lineup by Taj Gibson. Noah, 30, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in May and has been subject to a minutes limit this season.

TIP-INS

Hornets: Coach Steve Clifford doesn’t seem too bothered by the tight race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. “It’s a lot of fun,” Clifford said. “It’s why you play, obviously.” … One game after shooting a season-high 80 percent, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed his first four shots and was 2 for 8 from the field. He finished with seven points and nine rebounds.

Bulls: Coach Tom Thibodeau said Derrick Rose (knee) is “making good, steady progress” and the 2011 NBA MVP is “doing everything in practice except the contact part.” … The Bulls wore their alternate black uniforms at home.

UP NEXT

Hornets: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Bulls: Visit Toronto on Wednesday night.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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