Nuggets at Bulls
The Chicago Bulls threw up a dud on Tuesday but will try to start off the new year on a stronger note when they host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Bulls had a seven-game winning streak come to an end with a 96-82 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday as Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler combined to go 5-of-27 from the floor. The pair should not expect as much defensive resistance from a Nuggets team allowing 108.2 points over the last five games.
Denver ended its three-game homestand by allowing a total of 227 points in back-to-back losses to Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets have dropped four of their last five and went 5-11 in December, beginning with a win at Utah on Dec. 1 to pull over .500 at 9-8. Chicago had a six-game home winning streak come to an end in Tuesday’s setback, which began a stretch of eight of nine in its own arena.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (13-19): Kenneth Faried had his best three-game start of the season and one of the best of his career with totals of 63 points and 58 rebounds in three consecutive double-doubles. The Morehead State product complained of “dead legs” on Tuesday as he slumped to four points and four rebounds in a 111-103 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Faried managed 12 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes on Nov. 25 to help Denver to a 114-109 win over Chicago.
ABOUT THE BULLS (22-10): Rose is 7-of-35 from the field over the last two games, including 1-of-12 from beyond the arc. Both Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau insist that Rose is making the right reads and taking the shots that are there, they’re just not falling. “I'm just trying to read the game,” Rose told reporters. “It's just that I'm not making any shots. If I was making shots, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'm playing the way I normally play.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets F Wilson Chandler (quad) left Tuesday’s game and is day-to-day.
2. Chicago F Mike Dunleavy is 9-of-17 from 3-point range in the last four games.
3. Denver G Arron Afflalo is 4-of-29 from 3-point range over the last seven games.