Winning streak extended to five games with

Pau Gasol posted a double-double to lead Chicago with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but his biggest play of the night was when he blocked Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge’s shot with 1 minute left in the fourth quarter, thwarting San Antonio’s attmept to seize the advantage.. San Antonio would make just one field goal in the four minutes of regulation. After adding free agents LaMarcus Aldridge and David West in the offseason, San Antonio was expected to take a couple of months to jell on both ends of the court.

“The second quarter was our downfall”, said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. San Antonio will look to test its strength against one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams, the Chicago Bulls. “Jo was outstanding and nearly had a triple double off the bench with his energy, making plays offensively as well as defensively”. The Bulls are averaging 47.6 defensive rebounds per game, which is four more than league average.

Leonard scored 22 points with a block and a steal against the Hawks Saturday.

Jabari Parker scored 16 points as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 92-74 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the Bradley Center.

This did not seem to be an issue for the Bulls as they opened up the final quarter going on an 11-2 run. And so with an overall performance that can only be described as “average”, the Bulls record stands at 10-5. The return of the veteran will give the Bulls an added three-point threat after he averaged 9.4 points and shot 40.7 percent from three-point range in 63 games last season.

The Bulls were without Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Brooks, who both missed the game with injuries.

A player to watch in this game is Pau Gasol as his numbers are down from a year ago, although he is still averaging a double-double (13.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG.) Gasol has said he wants more paint touches but he also realizes that the team is still learning the new offense under rookie head coach Fred Hoiberg. They have won five of their last seven games but they have also had some puzzling losses despite being relatively healthy all season.

Gasol played with Bryant for six-plus seasons, winning consecutive National Basketball Association titles in 2009 and 2010.

While the Spurs continue to find their offensive rhythm, defense remains the team’s priority. Leonard had 25 for the Spurs. San Antonio’s offense hasn’t been great but scoring shouldn’t be a problem next time. His defensive prowess and length could easily shut out a hobbled Butler, and if this were to occur, the Bulls would lose their best and most efficient offensive weapon.