Butler tops Jordan Bulls record with 40 points in half

“It shows how much confidence my teammates and coaches have in me”.

“I made a couple of shots, I put the ball in the basket”, said a modest Butler after the game.

The team as a whole has been better without Rose, being outscored by 0.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor while outscoring opponents by 5.3 points per 100 with Rose on the bench.

“I’m just happy we got the win”. The pace with which the Bulls played with, with this lineup was a lot of fun to watch, getting out into transition, the movement in the halfcourt was phenomenal. They are now third in the Atlantic Division with a 15-18 record and are behind the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics who are first and second, respectively. The Raptors held the Hornets to 4-of-21 from the field in the fourth and DeMar DeRozan led the offense with 23 points – the 11th time in the last 12 games that he went for 20 or more.

The Toronto Raptors have been unbeaten for the past two games at home and will try to make it three games when they host the Chicago Bulls at the Air Canada Centre today, Sunday.

“I think it’s just the ups and downs of a season, ” Taj Gibson said of the circus-like atmosphere around his team.

Asked about breaking Jordan’s record, Butler said, “Do not compare me to him”.

Jordan, perhaps the greatest player of all time, had 39 points, also in the second half, in a game against Milwaukee in 1989.

The Bulls blew a 17-point lead before pulling away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter.

In the victory over NY, guard Jimmy Butler emerged and led the team with 23 points, four rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block.

Wall had 12 points in the fourth quarter and Kris Humphries scored 11, all in the final period. Up 14 with around a minute left, the Knicks hit back-to-back three’s and followed those with two free throw’s to cut the deficit to six heading into halftime.

“It was an unbelievable performance by Jimmy”, Hoiberg said.

Butler on the elbow from Carroll that required stitches: “He didn’t do it on goal but he messed my swagger up so I can’t go on a date for a while”.

For one, Chicago’s star player Derrick Rose has missed his past two games with hamstring injuries, according to UPI. However, it was short lived as Aaron Brooks and Pau Gasol would extend Chicago’s lead to 17. Raptors PG Kyle Lowry was limping after the win over Charlotte on Friday but practiced Saturday and played Sunday…. Caboclo and F Anthony Bennett (sore back) did not play Sunday…. The Bulls won 104-97.

With the victory, the Bulls have now won four consecutive games to move all the way up to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.