Bulls 102, Mavericks 98
Jimmy Butler had 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals and Derrick Rose also scored 20 points as visiting Chicago halted Dallas’ three-game winning streak.
Pau Gasol recorded his fifth straight double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds as the Bulls won for the second straight night. Taj Gibson added 15 points and seven rebounds as Chicago racked up a 47-30 rebounding edge.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Chandler Parsons added 19 for the Mavericks, who dropped to 14-7 at home. Monta Ellis had 17 points and a season-best five steals and Tyson Chandler had 10 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots.
A basket by Rose started a 10-0 burst as Chicago held a 95-85 edge with 4:30 remaining before Dallas moved within 97-91 on Parsons’ fast-break hoop with 2:11 to play. A three-point play by Ellis pulled the Mavericks within 100-98 with 28.6 seconds left but Dallas opted to play defense as opposed to fouling and it backfired when Rose rebounded his own miss and Gasol sealed it with two free throws with one-tenth of a second left.
Rose scored 13 first-quarter points as Chicago opened up a nine-point edge and the Bulls led by 11 after Gibson’s basket with 4:58 left in the second before settling for a 54-51 lead at the break. Chicago led by nine after Gasol’s basket with 1:21 left in the third before Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer to cut Dallas’ deficit to 80-75 entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bulls C Joakim Noah (ankle) returned after a four-game absence and had six points and seven rebounds. … Dallas hit all 18 of its free-throw attempts. … Chicago tied a season worst with 24 turnovers, leading to 32 Dallas points.