Brooks Bailout

It's been established by now that Aaron Brooks can have scoring spurts pretty much anytime.  Little did anyone know prior to Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers that one would be needed for a win.  It never should have gotten to that point, but Brooks helped avoid the Bulls' lowest moment of the season in a 104-95 overtime win.

This was rough to watch as a basketball fan.  The 76ers, making no attempt to field a competitive team this year, made mistakes on both ends no one else in the NBA could get away with.  I won't describe them, but it took more than half the third quarter for them to score.

Still, the shorthanded Bulls weren't hungry enough and/or able to go for the kill and almost paid for it.  After scoring just 21 points in a third quarter where the 76ers scored 12, they surrendered the lead in the fourth.  Brooks made the game-tying three late in regulation, but an ill-advised transition pass by Tony Snell set up the 76ers' chance to win, which they failed on through Luc Mbah a Moute's terrible jump shot at the top of the key.  Led by Brooks, the Bulls finally put Philadelphia away in a 12-3 overtime period.

Brooks' 31 points were a season high and marked his first game with that total since 2010.  Three of the other Bulls starters reached double-doubles, including Pau Gasol (27 points, 16 rebounds), who now has 44 this season.  Nikola Mirotic, starting for the injured Joakim Noah, did his most prominent damage in the first half and finished with 16 and 12.  Snell barely met the requirements at 10 and 10, but his night was overshadowed by a career-high seven turnovers, including the aforementioned pass which nearly cost the Bulls the game.

There should be happiness about the win, but even the most ardent Bulls supporters have to admit the team got lucky in this one.  It doesn't matter how banged up this team is.  The talent still available should have been enough to blow one of the worst constructed teams in NBA history out of their own building.  They could have easily held a 15-point lead in the third quarter and overtime wouldn't have been necessary.  Instead, everyone watching was forced to sweat it out almost to the end.

Those who question whether the Bulls can contend for a title this year often point to the team's lack of urgency in putting weaker teams away.  Sure, a healthier group has done well against better opponents, but there's legitimate concern as to whether this will carry over in the playoffs.  Everyone needs to get back on the floor first, but then, they need to fix the complacency issue that's been plaguing them.  The postseason is only a month away, so time is running short for these kinds of adjustments.

The Bulls will next play Friday to take on the Charlotte Hornets.  Chalk it up as another game against an Eastern Conference playoff opponent which really shouldn't be.  If that wasn't a storyline, whether Michael Jordan will appear courtside would be instead.  But alas, there's basketball to be played and improving playoff seeding is important for both teams.