Bulls' Nikola Mirotic: Drops 20 against Bulls

Mirotic (back) scored 20 points (5-10 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 6-7 FT) while adding eight rebounds and two assists across 37 minutes in Friday's 128-121 overtime victory over the Suns.

Analysis:

Although he was active for the Bulls' final game before the All-Star break Feb. 16 against the Celtics, Mirotic was held out of that contest for precautionary purposes while he continued to recover from back spasms. The week of rest in between games appeared to do Mirotic some good, as he paced the Bulls bench in minutes and tied his season high in scoring while outproducing starting power forward Bobby Portis (nine points, seven rebounds in 16 minutes). Now that Taj Gibson has since been traded away to the Thunder, Portis and Mirotic both look poised to claim extra minutes, and if Friday's outing is any indication, the latter will handle the bulk of the duties at the position. Mirotic's strong outing could prompt coach Fred Hoiberg to promote him to the starting five over Portis in the Bulls' next contest Saturday against the Cavaliers.