The Chicago Bulls (22-12) took care of business on their home court Thursday night, as they defeated the Boston Celtics (19-17) at United Center, 101-92
Trailing 43-33 with 3:58 to go in the second quarter, the Bulls kicked it into high gear to end the half, closing the quarter with a 15-4 run to take a 48-47 halftime lead. Nikola Mirotic chipped in eight of the 15 points of the Bulls run on three field goals, including two deep three-pointers. The Bulls continued with a 13-2 run to open the third quarter and wouldn't relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest.
The Bulls were powered by a pair of double-doubles from Pau Gasol (17 points, 18 rebounds) and Jimmy Butler, who led all scorers with 19 points and dished 10 assists. All five Bulls starters scored at least 10 points, including Derrick Rose, who chipped in 18 on a crisp 9-16 shooting. The Bulls bench chipped in from the three-point line, as Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and Kirk Hinrich combined to knock down seven of the team's nine three-pointers, helping the team shoot 40.9 percent from the three-point line.
Jae Crowder led the Celtics with 17 points despite a poor 6-17 shooting night. His shooting woes were contagious, as Boston struggled to connect as a team. Amir Johnson, who scored 12 points on a 6-8 shooting night, was the only Celtic to shoot at least 50 percent, and the team shot just 35-98 (35.7 percent) from the floor. Jared Sullinger was a bright spot, as he came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 11 rebounds in only 25 minutes.
The Celtics have now lost four of five and remain on the road for their next contest Sunday in Memphis. The Bulls extended their winning streak to six and will look to extend it Saturday in Atlanta.
