Things weren’t pretty to start out for the Chicago Bulls, but a strong second half solidified a 110-90 win over the Denver Nuggets.
The game was close to begin with, and the score was even tied at 13 four minutes into the game. But the Bulls began playing sloppily and were outworked as the quarter neared its end, resulting in a 30-19 deficit after the first 12 minutes. Their six turnovers didn’t help much either.
Chicago was also lacking a sense of of urgency and intensity at the end of the first period, and it carried into the second quarter, too. This all really began when the bench entered the game, so when they clearly couldn’t get it together, coach Tom Thibodeau brought back Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah at the 6:50 mark.
Soon enough, the Bulls had their starters back in — with the exception of Doug McDermott in for Mike Dunleavy — and they were making a comeback.
It all started with McDermott’s pair of threes that sandwiched a layup from Butler. Rose then followed suit with a pair of free throws. The starting frontcourt contributed when Gasol scored on a left baseline jumper assisted by Noah. A pair of free throws and a reverse layup from Butler then cut what was once a 21-point deficit into a 10-point one. But that was simply the start of it.
That momentum and intensity remained throughout the rest of the quarter, and, come halftime, Chicago found itself tied with Denver at 58 thanks to a two-handed dunk from Tony Snell.
The game remained tight to open the third quarter, but Butler helped it turn in favor of the Bulls.
First, Butler blocked Aaron Afflalo’s left-wing jumper, and ran out on the fast break for a layup. He followed that up with a steal, and then drew a foul on a drive to the bucket. Butler ended up making both free throws.
Those pair of defensive plays set the tone for Chicago in the third period, and the bench was able to maintain that this time, ending the third quarter with a 83-75 lead.
Aaron Brooks kept that momentum going in the fourth quarter, and even forced Denver to take a quick timeout. Brooks assisted on McDermott’s right-wing jumper, the first field goal of the period, and then made a layup of his own to give the Bulls an 87-75 lead at the 10:38 mark.
From that point on, Chicago not only maintained that lead, but they also extended it even further. In fact, Thibodeau was comfortable enough with where his team was at to put Cameron Bairstow, E’Twaun Moore and Tony Snell in for the remaining 2:09.
Butler led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. He also added six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Rose and Gibson contributed 15 points apiece while rookie Doug McDermott had 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Chicago, as a whole, shot 45.6 percent from the field, but allowed Denver to shoot 44.3 percent; however, the Nuggets were limited to 18.8 percent on threes. The Bulls also proved their defensive abilities with 10 steals, and were also able to convert in transition with 23 fast break points. They also managed to care for the ball better, as they committed only five more turnovers after the six in the first quarter.
The Bulls will continue exhibition play Thursday night when they take on the visiting Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. central.