Butler’s 32 points, 10 assists lead streaking Bulls past Bucks
Man, Jimmy Butler has really fallen off. After scoring 40 points over the final two quarters of the Chicago Bulls’ Sunday win over the Toronto Raptors, he only managed a measly 20 in the first two quarters of Chicago’s Tuesday tilt against the Milwaukee Bucks, and a paltry 12 over the final two. What a bum!
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The 26-year-old All-Star once again led the way for Chicago on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 32 points on 11-for-21 shooting to go with a career-high-tying 10 assists, two rebounds and a steal in 39-plus minutes of play to pace the Bulls to a 117-106 win over their Central Division rivals. The victory extends Chicago’s winning streak to five games and improves the Bulls to 21-12 on the season, just 2 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the East.
Chicago scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed against the struggling Bucks, who have now lost five of seven and eight of 12 to fall to 14-23 on the season. Butler was a big part of the Bulls’ hot start, making five of his first six shots and roasting whichever Milwaukee defender came his way — including, more often than you’d expect, Chicago-born forward Jabari Parker, whom Butler repeatedly torched off the dribble, using his superior foot speed to blow past the second-year pro and get wherever he wanted to go on the floor.
With the Bulls working to push off Milwaukee misses, Butler taking advantage of his quickness edge, and big men Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson getting just about whatever they wanted (including offensive rebound after offensive rebound) against the mushy interior of a Bucks defense that entered Tuesday ranked 28th among 30 NBA teams in points allowed per possession, Chicago rolled up 67 first-half points on blistering 61.4 percent shooting. And yet the Bulls led by only six at intermission, thanks largely to the backcourt of Khris Middleton and Michael Carter-Williams, who combined for 30 points on 20 shots to keep the Bucks within hailing distance.
The Bulls pushed the lead to a dozen after Butler fed forward Nikola Mirotic for a driving dunk just past the six-minute mark of the third quarter. Milwaukee stormed back, though, ripping off a 15-4 run (during which Middleton made one basket and assisted on five others) to cut the deficit to 90-89 with one minute remaining in the frame. That, however, would be as close as the Bucks got. Chicago’s second unit held down the fort early in the fourth before the reinsertion of starters Butler and Derrick Rose, who returned after missing the last three games with a balky right hamstring, keyed an 8-2 run that pushed the lead back to double-figures and ended any threat of a Bucks comeback.
Gasol finished with 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal, feasting on the Bucks’ bigs on the block and in the pick-and-pop. Gibson added a double-double with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting with 14 rebounds and six blocks, while Rose’s wheels looked none the worse for wear, as he repeatedly attacked the basket and even made a couple of turn-back-the-clock-looking finishes once he got there:
Rose finished with 16 points on 8-for-17 shooting (the line would look better had he not taken and missed four 3-pointers) with six assists and five turnovers in his first action of 2016.
While many hands made light work in vanquishing the Bucks, it was Butler’s strong performance that had people talking after the game … which is becoming a pretty common occurrence these days.
The league’s reigning Most Improved Player continues to take a step forward on the offensive end without shirking his responsibilities as Chicago’s primary perimeter stopper. He’s averaging 24.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game over his last 10 outings, which have included two 40-plus-point games and Tuesday’s 32-pointer, and he now ranks 12th in the league in scoring at 22.1 points per game on the season, just behind Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and just ahead of the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony.
He’s authoring the kind of performances that make him a shoo-in for his second straight All-Star Game and that, if he keeps them up, could have him in line for All-NBA consideration come season’s end. For his part, the head coach whose energy Butler recently questioned offered emphatic praise of the strides the swingman has taken, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
“Absolutely I think Jimmy has reached elite status in this league,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “You can see every game he’s getting more comfortable. Last year, he had fewer ball screens, more isolation-type actions. This year, he really has added that element to his game.
“He’s such a complete player. It’s a testament to what he does in the offseason. He just continues to add new elements to his game. He was in here at 8 a.m. (Tuesday) morning getting shots up. And he’s never satisfied. And that’s the true sign of a superstar, when you continue to work when you have success.” […]
“He’s balling right now. So keep going to him until he doesn’t want the ball anymore,” Rose said. “You can tell the game’s slowing down for him, especially when he’s playing pick-and-roll. It’s fun to see, exciting. I’m happy for him, man.
“To improve the way he is improving and being on my team, it’s good. I don’t really have to do too much when I’m out there because he’s taking great shots and making the right plays.”
Not only is Butler making the right plays for himself and others, but his teammates are following suit, leading to a marked uptick in offensive effectiveness. Chicago’s averaging 111.3 points per 100 possessions going over the last seven games, dating back to their Christmas Day win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the third-best mark in the league over that span. If the Bulls keep the overall pace and productivity of their attack cranked up to that level, I guess we can excuse Butler’s decline in by-the-half scoring output. (Slacker.)
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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