On the circus road trip, any win is a good win. That, along with no one getting injured, cushions the embarrassment and frustration of the Bulls blowing a 21 point lead that peaked midway through the second quarter after back-to-back buckets from Tony Snell. The offense lost its rhythm and the absence of Taj Gibson was felt on the interior, but fortunately for Thibs & Co., Gordon Hayward’s three as time expired clanged off the rim to seal the 97-95 win for Chicago.
Chicago’s offense set the building on fire in the first half. Both Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol returned and made an impact. Rose quickly poured in ten as the Bulls raced to an early lead, while Pau was clearly refreshed from the time off provided by his calf ailment. That first half continued to be a brave new world on offense for the Bulls, as they shot better from three (8-12) than they did at the free throw line (8-13). They shot 59% overall, and though Utah shot 48% themselves, the Jazz attempted only two threes and three free throws. 16 bench points for the Bulls made it an all-around effort that was a reminder, even without Kirk Hinrich and Gibson, of the firepower this team has suddenly assembled.
Utah hung tough though, and starting in the final stint of the second quarter, made their way back into the game. With Rose on limited minutes and the three point attack going cold (just one in the second half, a moonball from Aaron Brooks), the Jazz crawled all the way back and took the lead in a contest that grew progressively more heated, culminating in Jimmy standing over Joe Ingles, who I’m still not convinced isn’t a 2K create-a-player brought to life, for which he drew a technical foul. Derrick Favors (21 points and 15 boards) and Enes Kanter (19 points on 9-13 from the floor) gave the Jazz fans and franchise a glimpse of their potential together down low, taking advantage of Joakim Noah’s more slender frame and Gasol’s decline in mobility.
The technical foul on Jimmy activated his Attack Mode, and combined with Rose returning for the final minutes, the offense got back in gear. Noah answered on the defensive end with two huge stops. Still, Utah had the ball up one with less than 30 seconds left, at least until an ill-advised behind-the-back pass from Trey Burke (18 points and ten assists) ended up in Butler’s hands. He went one-on-two attacking the rim, only to be denied without the foul call, but his aggression drew both retreating defenders, leaving Mike Dunleavy to clean up the mess and give the Bulls the lead. After a missed Favors jumper in the paint and Gasol splitting a pair at the line, Utah was able to get Hayward a decent look from three for all the marbles, it just didn’t connect and Chicago survived.
Overall, Rose encouraged with 18 points and five assists in 25 minutes, as did Pau, who posted 23 and nine on 11-20 shooting in 37 minutes. The question with both though is how they will respond, especially on a back-to-back in Denver tomorrow night. Gasol again showed he is a completely different player with rest. The minutes and compressed schedule before his injury deflated his effectiveness and watching him work tonight was like night and day. Nikola Mirotic held his own in 28 minutes off the bench, so there’s no reason for Pau to get overworked in the coming months.
Three games remain on the accursed circus trip. Denver, Boston and Brooklyn are all winnable games, but in the grand scheme of things, staying healthy and just going 1-2 to escape the trip at 3-4 is really all they need.
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