Warriors-Bulls Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Jan 24 2013 10:18PM

The Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors have reached the season's midpoint as perhaps two of the league's biggest surprises.

In recognition for their success, two Bulls were selected to the All-Star game while the Warriors are sending one to the showcase for the first time in 16 years. Golden State, however, probably feels it deserved two.

Two days after leading the Warriors past the NBA's top team, Stephen Curry could be poised for another big game by using his All-Star snub as motivation Friday night in Chicago.

Golden State (26-15) is in fifth place in the Western Conference and inching closer to just its second playoff appearance since 1994.

"I'm sure we're surprising people," Curry said after Wednesday's 104-99 win over Oklahoma City.

Curry and David Lee have been instrumental to their success, and Warriors coach Mark Jackson had been campaigning for their inclusion in the All-Star game for the last month.

"Maybe I'll hold my own game if these two guys aren't in there," he said after the duo led Golden State past the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 2.

Jackson didn't get his wish, as only Lee, who averages 19.6 points, is eighth in rebounding at 10.8 per game and second with 26 double-doubles, was announced as an All-Star reserve on Thursday. He's the Warriors first since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.

Curry was left out despite ranking eighth in the league in scoring at 20.9 per game, second in 3-pointers with 124 and third in 3-point percentage at 45.1. The Warriors are 19-8 when he scores at least 20 compared to 7-7 in games he doesn't.

He had 31 against the Thunder, and sealed Golden State's third straight victory by stealing a pass from Kevin Durant in the final seconds and hitting a pair of free throws.

The Warriors are averaging 108.7 points during their winning streak, and are 23-5 when scoring at least 96. Facing a Chicago team that ranks third in defense at 91.3 points should provide a stiff challenge.

Curry is averaging 21.8 points and 7.5 assists in his last four games against the Bulls with the Warriors winning three.

Chicago (25-16) has won nine of 12 games this month to move percentage points ahead of Indiana for first place in the Central Division - an unexpected position considering star guard Derrick Rose has yet to play due to a torn ACL.

Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer have picked up the slack, and Deng and Noah were both rewarded with All-Star nods.

Deng averages 17.4 points and an NBA-best 39.8 minutes, but has missed the last three games with a right hamstring injury and his status is uncertain.

Noah, who averages 12.2 points and ranks seventh in rebounds at 10.9 per game, had 18 boards and made the play of the game in Wednesday's 85-82 win over Detroit.

After Marco Belinelli missed a 3 in the final 10 seconds, the ball ricocheted toward the row of cameramen and Noah and his 7-foot frame barreled through to save it back to Belinelli, who immediately made a layup and the ensuing free throw for the game's final margin.

"Quite frankly, I don't know how he got to it. It was an incredible play," said Tom Thibodeau, whose team rallied from a 17-point deficit.

With Lee and Noah, it's not surprising the Warriors and Bulls are two of the league's top rebounding teams, at 44.7 per game and 43.7, respectively.

Golden State is 21-3 when outrebounding its opponent, the NBA's third-best mark.

Hinrich scores 25, Bulls beat Warriors 103-87

Posted Jan 26 2013 12:17AM

CHICAGO (AP) Kirk Hinrich insisted his shot has felt good all season.

The Chicago Bulls guard was averaging only 6.5 points per game but broke loose for a season-high 25 in a 103-87 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Hinrich made six of his seven 3-point attempts for the Bulls in their third straight victory. He was scoreless in his previous game Wednesday against the Pistons after he scored a season-high 22 points Monday against the Lakers.

"The guys set me up with some great plays," Hinrich said. "I was hitting shots and they just kept finding me."

Nate Robinson added 22 points off the bench for Chicago.

All-Star forward David Lee scored 23 points and Stephen Curry added 21 for Golden State, which shot 34.6 percent from the field. The Warriors had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Jimmy Butler had 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while starting in place of Bulls All-Star Luol Deng, who missed his fourth consecutive game due to a right hamstring injury.

"He can do a lot better, too," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said about Butler. "I love his toughness. He competes on every play. He's not afraid. Guys like that can always continue to get better."

Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, the Bulls' other All-Star selection, also finished with double-doubles. Boozer had 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Noah had 14 points and 16 rebounds.

"It's huge," Thibodeau said. "Jo was terrific - offense, defense, rebounding, energy. Carlos, his rebounding and just his presence inside, his cutting and screening led to fouls, which got us to the free throw line, got us established inside, opened some things up for us."

The Bulls shot 46.6 percent from the field and have won six of their last nine against Golden State.

Chicago never trailed and led by as many as 26.

"There's a good calmness but also readiness and sense of urgency at the same time," Hinrich said. "We've kind of had that edge."

The Warriors got as close as 10 early in the third quarter before the Bulls responded with a 10-3 run.

Chicago fell short of its season high for points (118). The Bulls won the rebounding battle 56-37 even though the Warriors were the fourth-best rebounding team in the NBA.

"We just went after it, went after the ball," Noah said. "We knew they were playing some really good basketball and I think we played with the right edge tonight. We played probably one of our best games."

Hinrich's sixth 3-pointer tied his career high and pushed the Bulls' lead to 100-80 with 3:17 remaining.

Klay Thompson had 13 points and Jarrett Jack added 11 for the Warriors.

Chicago scored the game's first eight points before Curry hit a jumper with 9:24 left in the first quarter.

The Bulls led by as many as 19 in the opening period, shooting 14 of 26 from the field for a 31-13 edge.

Golden State went 5 of 22 from the field.

"From the start, they executed their offense at a high level and we didn't match their intensity," Curry said. "Even when we did get stops, we couldn't finish off the possession with a rebound."

Chicago pushed the lead to as many as 26 before halftime, but Golden State went on a 12-0 run to cut it to 14. The Bulls were ahead 63-50 at the break for a new season high for first-half points, shooting 54 percent from the field. Hinrich scored 19 points, making four of five 3s.

"We got outworked," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We didn't have the right mindset to start the game and it just snowballed from there. That wasn't Warriors basketball. That's a very good team."

Boozer added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Robinson had 11 points - all in the second quarter.

"We're a good rebounding team," Boozer said. "We've got a lot of guys that love to rebound. That's one of our strengths."

The Warriors haven't won in Chicago since Jan. 18, 2008.

Before the game, both coaches said one of their players was snubbed for the All-Star game. Thibodeau said Boozer, who leads the Eastern Conference in double-doubles, should have earned All-Star honors. Jackson said he was disappointed Curry missed the cut, but Curry responded with energy and enthusiasm. He was averaging 20.9 points per game, eighth in the NBA.

"It keeps me focused and grinding," Curry said. "I've had a lot of doubters since coming out of high school up until this level. Just another reason to stay focused and do what I'm doing. Hopefully I'll have another opportunity down the road."

NOTES: Jackson played for Thibodeau while he was an assistant coach with New York and Houston. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," Jackson said. "We go way back. He's a hard worker. He's the same guy he was there. It's great to see the success he's having." ... Officials called four offensive fouls in the first minute of the second half.

Notebook: Bulls 103, 87 Warriors

Kent McDill, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:40 PM - Updated Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:43 PM

THE FACTS: Led by a season-high 25 points from Kirk Hinrich, the host Chicago Bulls led from the start and ran away with a 103-87 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Nate Robinson, the current backup point guard behind Hinrich, had 22 points off the bench, while all three Bulls starters in the frontcourt had double-doubles: Jimmy Butler (16 points, 12 rebounds), Carlos Boozer (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (14 points, 16 rebounds). The Warriors were led by new All-Star David Lee with 23 points, while Stephen Curry had 21 points.

THE FACTS II: The game was decided in the first quarter, when the Bulls shot 54 percent, the Warriors shot 23 percent, the Bulls outrebounded the Warriors 21-7 and took a 31-13 lead. The Warriors never got the difference below double digits the rest of the game.

QUOTABLE I: "Joakim's energy runs off on the other guys on the court. When you see him rebounding and yelling, you go in and rebound so you can yell."
-- Bulls forward Jimmy Butler.

THE STAT: The Bulls shot 45 percent from 3-point range (nine for 20), with Hinrich going six for seven.

QUOTABLE II: "That's the most I've taken this season. That's the most I've made."
-- Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich on his 3-point shooting. His six made 3-pointers tied his career high.

THE STAT II: The Bulls outrebounded the Warriors 56-37. They had 16 offensive boards and had 30 second-chance points.

THE STAT III: The Warriors lost by 16, but they outscored the Bulls from the free throw line 29-12. They were 29-for-33 from the line (the Bulls were 12 for 18).

TURNING POINT: The Warriors got the difference down to 10 points, 65-55, with nine minutes left in the third quarter, but missed their next six shots, and the Bulls built a 75-58 lead.

INJURY UPDATE: Luol Deng missed his fourth consecutive game with a sore right hamstring, but reports indicate he may play Saturday in Washington against the Wizards. The Bulls are 3-1 in his absence with Butler starting in Deng's place.

HOT: Bulls guard Robinson made 10-of-16 shots from the field for his 22 points.

QUOTABLE III: "We got outworked. We didn't have the right mindset to start the game and it snowballed from there. That wasn't Warriors basketball."

-- Golden State coach Mark Jackson.

GOOD MOVE: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau took the harness off the Bulls' offense Friday. They scored a season-high 63 points in the first half.

ODD OFFICIATING: The second half started with four offensive fouls called in the first 57 seconds. Three minutes later, the officiating crew of Bill Kennedy, John Goble and Olandis Poole called traveling on three consecutive possessions over 33 seconds.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The United Center gets regular visits from former Second City performers who went on to star on Saturday Night Live. On Friday, it was Tim Meadows' turn to show up.

ROOKIE WATCH: The Warriors' starting rookie forward Harrison Barnes missed all four shots he took and finished with three points in 22 minutes. Rookie center Festus Ezeli played just nine minutes because of foul trouble and did not score.

NOTABLE: The Bulls have won six of their last seven games and are 10 games over .500 for the first time this season... Butler's double-double was the first of his two-year NBA career... the game Friday started a stretch for Golden State in which it plays 14 of 19 games on the road... The Bulls have won 40 straight games in which they scored 100 points, one win away from tying the NBA record... the Bulls have a chance for their first four-game win streak of the season when they face Washington Saturday.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, @ Washington Saturday, vs. Bobcats Monday, @ Milwaukee Wednesday. For the Warriors, @ Milwaukee Saturday, @ Toronto Monday, @ Cleveland Tuesday.

• Warriors: Bogut, Rush
• Bulls: Rose

• Warriors: Landry
• Bulls: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #30 John Goble, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 21756
• Duration: 2:07