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By Sam Smith | 2.27.2015 | 9:41 p.m. CT
The Bulls Friday closed an emotional and uplifting day with a gritty 96-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bulls after leading much of the game fell behind midway through the fourth quarter and then pulled away behind the strong play of Jimmy Butler, leadership of Joakim Noah and shooting of Mike Dunleavy.
Butler led the Bulls with 28 points and 12 rebounds; Noah had 11 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Dunleavy had 21 points with five threes. The Bulls moved to 37-22 and 18-12 at home. Minnesota is 13-44.
Observations:
1. Jimmy Butler doesn’t always do much spectacular other than catching the occasional lob for a dunk. But he throws his body into every play on offense and defense, rebounding and with a practiced mid range shooting game. Butler even closed the game at point guard with a key driving basket.
2. Joakim Noah has to be the most creative passing center in the game as with Gasol ill Noah was back playing high post point center with numerous passes for lob dunks with an uncanny feel for the game.
3. The Bulls went deep into the bench with Gasol ill, Gibson getting hurt and Rose out. Rarely used Nazr Mohammed showed aggression and clever positioning and certainly could be a help as a backup big man more regularly. Doug McDermott also finally got some early game playing time.