Bulls 100, Mavericks 91: Taj Gibson racked up 20 points and 15 rebounds and Jimmy Butler added 19 points and seven boards as visiting Chicago rallied in the second half to snap Dallas' four-game winning streak.
Mike Dunleavy contributed 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who have won eight of nine to move a season-best six games above .500. Kirk Hinrich added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting as Chicago pulled even with Toronto for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Monta Ellis scored 20 points to pace the Mavericks, who lost for only the third time in their last 13 games. Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter added 15 apiece for Dallas, which had averaged 113.8 points during its winning streak.
Chicago trailed by as many as 16 early and didn't take its first lead of the night until Boozer's basket made it 73-72 with 2:47 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 76-73 advantage into the final period, but the Bulls dominated the fourth.
Dallas answered Chicago's first surge in the final stanza and regained the lead at 85-84 on Ellis' bucket with 5:07 remaining, but the Bulls came out of a timeout with a 10-0 spurt to take control. Ellis hit a 3-pointer to make it 96-91 with 24 seconds left and give the Mavericks a glimmer of hope, but Dunleavy and Butler each knocked down a pair of free throws to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ellis made his 500th career 3-pointer less than a minute into the game and recorded his 1,000th career steal in the second quarter. … The Bulls won for just the third time in their last 16 trips to Dallas. … Gibson has scored in double figures in 18 of his last 19 games.
Chicago | Dallas | |
Taj Gibson 20 | Scoring | Monta Ellis 20 |
Mike Dunleavy 4 | Assists | Monta Ellis 5 |
Taj Gibson 15 | Rebounds | Samuel Dalembert 10 |
Jimmy Butler 6 | Free Throws Made | Monta Ellis 4 |
Mike Dunleavy 2 | Steals | DeJuan Blair 4 |
Jimmy Butler 1 | Blocks | Samuel Dalembert 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago | 100 | 50.7 | 9-19 | 19-28 | 19 | 46 | 2 | 6 | 21 |
Dallas | 91 | 40.0 | 11-31 | 12-17 | 17 | 37 | 5 | 12 | 13 |