A History of the TNT Bulls

Game 8: Pau Gasol returns to Los Angeles

Basketball-Reference box score.

The Lakers without Kobe Bryant make another appearance in our story, only to be struck down by former Laker Gasol, filled with TNT vigor and fueled by all the hellfire that comes with it.

Gasol put up 23 points and 13 rebounds in the reunion game, and his efforts were accompanied by 21 points from Butler and another 20 from Rose. It was the fifth straight win for the Bulls, and fans were excited to have a win on Christmas Day, even if it was against a Lakers team that would go on to win only 21 games.

It was nights like these that made Bulls fans wonder if maybe the Gasol addition was something real, not just another Plan B that GarPax rushed into once Melo was off the table. He certainly put up stats during his tenure in Chicago, this game being no exception, but many claimed that such statistical production wasn’t necessarily helping the team win games. Instead, Gasol was just filling up the box score because someone had to, especially when Noah wasn’t scoring as much and Boozer was off screaming “AND ONE!” somewhere else.

Speaking of, Pau wasn’t the only player matching up against his former team. Boozer was experiencing a reunion of his own, although his wasn’t quite as love-filled. According to the AP report, “Carlos Boozer scored 14 points and got booed in his return to Chicago, as he often did during his four seasons with the Bulls.” Sorry Booz, we won’t forget about the good times, old friend.