Bulls top Thunder, ending 3-game skid

The Bulls took full advantage of a rare three-day break between games.

Amid controversy about the teams lack of chemistry, leadership, Derrick Rose, and the fact that the team is underachieving in general, the Chicago Bulls were not expected to win this Christmas Day bout with the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City Thunder.

For reasons that are hard to explain, the Thunder are 14-2 against the West, but just 6-8 against the East. Durant says it’s “just coincidence”, and while it may be, those losses are all against the good Eastern teams – the Raptors, the Bulls (twice), the Hawks, the Heat, Celtics, the Knicks and the Cavs.

“We’ve just got to go out there and attack”, said Chicago forward Taj Gibson, who got a double technical with Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka. It’s no time to be friends with anybody right now. They got no closer. “We were making plays for each other”.

Depsite not having forward Joakim Noah, the Bulls outrebounded the Thunder 53-48 and held Oklahoma City to 38 percent shooting from the field.

On the season, the Chicago Bulls average 100.4 points, 49.0 rebounds and 22.7 assists per game.

The good news is that the Nuggets made nine 3-pointers to only eight for the Thunder, but the bad news is that they took 25 from long range to only 15 for the Thunder.

“I do think we’re capable of being better”, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “We trusted the game plan”. We know K.D.is a great 3-point shooter, (Anthony) Morrow, and Westbrook when his feet are set, and you just can’t let them get hot.

“If you try to get it all back in one play, try to get a steal, try to come down and shoot a pull-up three – just doing stupid stuff that we did all night, it will be tough to win”, Durant said.

The Bulls pretty much dominated the three first quarters, taking an 18 point lead into the fourth. Oklahoma City eventually pulled ahead, but by no more than two points in the first half. The Bulls led 86-68 at the end of the third quarter. While his play was uneven in the 1st half, Payne hit two huge 3-pointers; one at the end of the 3rd quarter and one at the beginning of the 4th, which were pivotal in the Thunder finally asserting themselves in the stretch. In Wednesday’s 120-85 road win over the Lakers, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shared the scoring load a bit more than normal.

The most glaring statistic in the Nuggets’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs was the discrepancy in points scored off of turnovers. The win snapped a three game losing streak.

The Bulls led the entire way in a building where they had not won since 2010.

Heat 94, Pelicans 88, OT: Chris Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 19 points, and host Miami beat New Orleans in overtime. Meanwhile, Durant had 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three rejections. The bench features two players in Kanter and Dion Waiters who average in double figures.

In Memphis, Mike Conley scored 19 points, Jeff Green added 17 and Memphis led from start to finish for a convincing victory over Los Angeles.

After the game, Butler was interviewed by Chris Broussard on ABC.