Bulls tame Grizzlies behind Butler's 31
The Chicago Bulls registered their most impressive victory of the season in beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, 103-97.
The odds were stacked against Chicago, playing on the road, on the second night of a back-to-back, without two of its best players in Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson. But the Bulls emerged victorious.
As is their wont, the Bulls rode their stifling defense en route to the victory. Reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah kept the Grizzlies out of the paint and helped hold the Grizzlies' frontcourt of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to 9-of-26 shooting.
With Noah anchoring the defense, the Bulls turned to the inside-out duo of Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic to power the offense. Butler turned in his second consecutive 30-plus point effort, scoring 31 on 11-of-21 shooting, while Mirotic nailed all six of his triples to finish with 27 points.
The Grizzlies were led in scoring by Mike Conley, who managed 21 points on 18 attempts. Backup point guard Beno Udrih scored 15 in the losing effort.
The victory pushes Chicago to 17-9, whereas the Grizzlies drop to 21-5.