Derrick Rose, forced to pick up some of the slack without Butler, finished one assist shy of a double-double in a 21-point effort. Pau Gasol did achieve a double-double, his 28th of the season, with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Taj Gibson, the only remaining Bull who has played in every game this year, totaled 12 in what's become his usual starting spot (which I'm probably late in pointing out). Off the bench, Doug McDermott had 11 on 40 percent shooting.
The Bulls somewhat resembled a cohesive offensive unit for once. Sure, 45.5 percent shooting from the field was not that much better than the 43.4 percent for the season entering this game (tied for 26th in the league), but going 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) from beyond the arc was a help. When you consider Golden State, well on its way to being one of the all-time great shooting teams, is shooting 42.8 percent from long range, it was hard not to think the offense was invincible at times.
While the Bulls don't have the personnel to play Golden State's style, or even Fred Hoiberg's style, it's sure refreshing to see them knocking down shots with regularity that would make Stephen Curry jealous. It's unlikely the roster will be overhauled to fit Hoiball anytime soon, especially not this year. But the talent is there, which should translate into more frequent success offensively. It hasn't shown as much as anyone would like, which leaves us scratching our heads as to what exactly has gone wrong at the most inopportune times.
The Disney on Ice trip will continue Friday when the Bulls play the Denver Nuggets. The last time these teams met, the Bulls won 99-90 on Dec. 2. To sweep the season series, more potent offense will be needed. Is it too greedy to want more of what we just saw in California's capital?
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