The summary
Derrick Rose's shooting woes continued as his 7-for-25 night put him at 14-for-60 over his last three games. But Rose, who missed his first eight shots and went scoreless in the first half, scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth as the Bulls rallied for a 106-101 victory over the Nuggets Thursday night at the United Center. Jimmy Butler's 26 points led the Bulls, while Pau Gasol set his career-high with nine blocks to go along with his 17 points and nine rebounds.
Turning point
Rose, 4-for-20 to that point, buried a 3-pointer with 4 minutes left and followed with an alley-oop that Butler emphatically dunked for a 96-88 lead.
Tribune player of game
Gasol. With apologies to Butler, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists, the big man's defensive presence saved the night.
Block party
The Bulls set a franchise record with 18 blocks. Beyond Gasol's nine, Joakim Noah had three.
Big number
53.3. The Bulls buried 8-of-15 3-pointers for 53.3 percent.
The quote
"My mentality is not going to change. I'm going to keep shooting. I'm a scoring guard. And it's mid-range. It's not like I'm shooting a bunch of 3-pointers. I could care less about what anyone says about my game. They're giving me shots. I should be able to make them shots." - Rose on his shooting slump
The quote II
"He won't be the first or last player to go through a slump. As long as he's shooting properly and they're the right shots, you go through the process. It happens. He has to work his way out of it. As a team, we're in a little bit of a funk. And that's what I liked about the second half. Everyone got going, made a few hustle plays. And that got us going." - Coach Tom Thibodeau on Rose
The quote III
"I heard the coaches saying something, and I just got caught up in the game. They were just telling them how to defend me, and I just made a shot.'' - Rose on staring down the Nuggets' bench after a big, late jumper.
The quote IV
"You plant a seed in their mind that they're not going to get anything easy close to the basket. You alter shots as well. I think when a team is able to block shots, especially with the length we have inside and the athleticism we have on the perimeter, it's tough to score over us." - Gasol on the franchise record 18 blocks.
The quote V
"I felt pretty good. Conditioning wasn't a concern. I got good looks, a couple spot-up 3s. Just trying to make them be honest." - Kirk Hinrich on his return
The quote VI
"We'll see how I feel (Friday). X-rays were negative. It's kind of all about when you get up and how stiff and swollen it is. Hopefully, it's not too bad. Basically, I sprained the ligaments but it's not your typical rolling of an ankle where you step on somebody's foot. I just kind of jammed it real bad." - Mike Dunleavy on the sprained right ankle he suffered in the third quarter
The quote VII
"We'll never question him because I know what kind of competitor he is. He's a worker. Everybody has something to say. It doesn't matter." - Joakim Noah no Rose.
Up next
Vs. Celtics, 7 p.m. Saturday