Bulls at Mavericks
The Chicago Bulls used a Christmas Day road game to let out some frustration following a three-game losing streak. The Bulls will try to make it two in a row away from home when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
"It's no time to be friends with anybody right now. We've got enough friends in here," forward Taj Gibson told reporters after a testy 105-96 win at Oklahoma City followed up a 4-6 stretch and some chemistry issues. Jimmy Butler, who recently called out head coach Fred Hoiberg, scored 23 points and both Pau Gasol and Gibson had double-doubles as Chicago won their first road game since Nov. 24. The Mavericks have been exchanging wins and losses for the past couple of weeks and rode J.J. Barea's career-high 32 points to a 119-118 overtime victory in Brooklyn on Christmas Eve. Barea's big night was made a bit more possible by the absence of starting point guard Deron Williams, who was out with a strained hamstring.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, WGN-TV (Chicago), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE BULLS (16-11): While Butler stirred some controversy with his recent comments, he remains a steadying force on the court and continued his solid road play with the performance in Oklahoma City. The one-time All-Star is averaging 22.6 points in 11 road games while shooting 47.4 percent, more than four percent better than his 16 home games. Gibson has stepped up his game with increased playing time of late, averaging nine points and 7.2 rebounds in nine straight starts.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (16-13): Dallas' short-term future looks a bit brighter with the increased productivity of reserve forward Chandler Parsons. The fifth-year pro, who has been recovering from microfracture surgery during the offseason, nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against Brooklyn while playing a season-high 34 minutes and appearing in back-to-back games for the first time. "I think you'll see his confidence go up, his timing and rhythm go up and his production will be the best results," president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bulls PG Derrick Rose has seven assists against nine turnovers over his last three contests.
2. Mavericks PF Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 23.1 points in 31 career games against the Bulls.
3. Dallas is 0-4 at home against Eastern Conference opponents.