Bulls at Nuggets
The Chicago Bulls just got Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol back and will immediately test both stars out with a back-to-back. The Bulls will try to put together consecutive wins when they visit the Denver Nuggets on the fifth stop of a seven-game trip Tuesday. Gasol (calf) returned from a three-game absence while Rose (hamstring) came back after missing four on Monday and the two combined for 41 points in a 97-95 win over Utah.
The Nuggets are in the process of digging themselves out of a big hole and have won four straight to draw within a game of .500. Denver is concentrating on the defensive end to improve and has held its last four opponents to an average of 97 points. “If we can continue to hold teams to 24 and below each quarter and hold them 100 or below (for the game), we feel like we can score 100 in our sleep most nights,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw told reporters.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE BULLS (9-5): Rose was limited to 25 minutes and did the bulk of his damage in the first quarter against the Jazz. The former MVP has missed eight games with ankle and hamstring ailments and will continue to be monitored closely. Even with Rose’s return, breakout guard Jimmy Butler still led Chicago in scoring with 25 points against Utah and has gone over 20 points in five of the last six contests, averaging 22 points in that span.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (6-7): Denver shot 37.8 percent from the field and missed 15 free throws on Sunday but still pulled out a 101-94 overtime victory over the lowly Los Angeles Lakers. One of the keys was forward Danilo Gallinari, who was being worked in slowly after knee surgery last year but played a season-high 31 minutes and scored 10 points against Los Angeles. Gallinari has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds on Sunday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets G Ty Lawson is averaging 12.2 assists over the last five games, including a season-high 16 on Sunday.
2. Chicago snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with a 117-89 home win on Feb. 21.
3. Denver C JaVale McGee (leg) left Sunday’s game and reportedly had an X-ray on his left tibia on Monday.