Jimmy Butler poured in 52 points with 12 rebounds and six assists to lead the short-handed Chicago Bulls to a 118-111 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
Butler posted his third 40-point game of the season and was just one shy of his career high.
He made 21 of 22 free-throw attempts, connected on nine of 13 shots in the second half and produced 17 points in the fourth quarter to spark chants of “MVP, MVP,” from an ecstatic United Center crowd.
Photo: AP
“I think it’s an understatement to say Jimmy was phenomenal tonight,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He did it every which way.”
With guard Dwyane Wade sidelined by a swollen knee and point guard Rajon Rondo benched by Hoiberg, Butler refused to let the Bulls endure a third straight defeat.
He scored 17 points in a fourth quarter in which the Bulls outscored the Hornets 36-26.
“I was just playing basketball,” Butler said. “I just had a groove.”
Doug McDermott, starting in place of Wade, scored 11 points for Chicago. Nikola Mirotic added 12 points off the bench and Michael Carter-Williams, starting in place of Rondo, chipped in 10.
Chicago’s Taj Gibson and Mirotic produced key defensive plays down the stretch, Gibson with a block and Mirotic with a steal.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 34 points and 11 rebounds. Nicolas Batum added 19 and Jeremy Lamb had 15, but the Hornets could not stop Butler.
“Our defense is soft,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “We can’t just pick and choose when to play it.”
An 8-1 run to start the second half had seen the Hornets build an eight-point lead, but not for the first time they could not hang on.
“It’s been our problem for the last couple of games and the last couple of weeks,” Batum said. “We just stop scoring and stop making plays. It was another big loss for us.”
For Chicago it was a big win after a shaky finish to last year and it came just in time to give them a boost ahead of today’s clash with champions the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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