Bulls G Derrick Rose sits out against Suns with sore ankle

Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 32 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns 103-97 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory. “My teammates just kept giving me the ball, to tell you the truth, whether I wanted it or not”. They said be aggressive, take shots I think I can make. “That’s what I did”.

The fourth quarter was Jimmy Butler’s time Wednesday night. I talked to (Rose) about it before the game. It was nearly like his energy level went up as the game went on in that fourth quarter. “But you have a first impression in your rookie year to change it. He’s more athletic than people give him credit for and he’s a better defender than people give him credit for”. After hanging on at home on Monday night against IN, the Bulls will face the Phoenix Suns IN the first of four road games IN the next nine days. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to play, and with Derrick Rose (ankle) also unlikely for Friday, Kirk Hinrich could be forced into heavy minutes for Chicago. “I’m just trying to keep my conditioning and my health good and keep contributing”.

Suns guard Brandon Knight scored 23 points, Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and seven assists, and P.J. Tucker added 20 points, two shy of his career high.

Phoenix (6-5) missed a chance to complete a four-game homestand sweep after wins against the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

In this sense, the Bulls must show similar fortitude to what they displayed last January when they posted the last regular-season victory by a visiting team in Oakland, Calif. Curry is going to hit shots, regardless of who is guarding him. “They’re undefeated. We got a task in front of us”. I don’t think you have to say too much.

Without the help of Derrick Rose, the Bulls led Phoenix 72-70 at the end of the third quarter. They would not hesitate to use this pick on the homegrown prodigy that many in the organization hoped would be a new age Michael Jordan for the team, its fans, and the city as whole. The Suns were also sparked by savvy coaching moves from Jeff Hornacek, who refused to accept bad shooting like in the opener and more quickly ditched Archie Goodwin and Jon Leuer with a floor-spacing unit that included Devin Booker and Mirza Teletovic. The Bulls made 10 of their first 13 shots. “We were battling all night to get back and finally get the lead”.

The Suns led 88-87 with 4:47 left on a pair of free throws by Bledsoe but couldn’t hold off Butler, who scored 14 in the final quarter.

Later in the fourth quarter, with the Bulls clinging to a four-point lead after a #NationalTVKirk three, Butler got big again.

The Suns came in averaging 105.8 points per game, third in the National Basketball Association, and shooting 45 percent.

“Butler made every shot, Hinrich made a couple of big ones, and when the game was on the line, they made them”, Hornacek said.

F Pau Gasol finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in the Bulls’ win over the Suns.

Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said that Aaron Brooks (hamstring) will “most likely” be out for Friday’s game against the Warriors. But it felt good to see the ball go in.