Bulls 105, Thunder 96
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Guard Jimmy Butler scored 23 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 105-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Butler shot 9 of 20 from the field to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Center Pau Gasol added 21 points and 13 boards as Bulls improved to 16-11.
Thunder forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points on 11 of 21 shooting. He also collected nine rebounds and seven assists.
Guard Russell Westbrook tallied 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Center Enes Kanter was the only other Thunder player to hit double figures with 14 points as Oklahoma City dropped to 20-10.
Trailing by 18 going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder put their best offensive unit on the floor. The lineup of Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, center Kanter and guard Anthony Morrow quickly closed the gap to 12 with 6:59 left in the game.
After layup by Chicago rookie forward Bobby Portis, Morrow drained back to back 3-pointers and the Thunder trailed 97-89 with 4:46 remaining.
Butler hit a pair of free throws to calm down the Thunder run but Kanter responded with a putback off a Westbrook missed shot.
After another defensive stop, Westbrook knocked down a 14-foot jumper and Oklahoma City was down 99-93 with 3:42 remaining
Over a minute later, Butler once again went to the foul line and buried a pair of free throws. Forward Serge Ibaka was called for an offensive foul and Gasol made them pay with a layup at other end to give Chicago a 10-point lead and put the game away.
Depsite not having forward Joakim Noah, the Bulls outrebounded the Thunder 53-48 and held Oklahoma City to 38 percent shooting from the field.
NOTES: Thunder F Kevin Durant trails only Lakers F Kobe Bryant among Western Conference frontcourt players in the first NBA All-Star voting. Thunder G Russell Westbrook is second behind Golden State's Steph Curry among Western Conference guards. Bulls G Jimmy Butler is fourth among Eastern Conference guards. ... First-year Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg was asked about the frustration level of G Jimmy Butler and entire organization with how slowly the team is picking up new schemes. "We don't live in a real patient society, I'll say that," Hoiberg said. "It's something we are obviously continuing to work at. We've made strides. It's a process." ... Thunder coach Billy Donovan on the development of rookie G Cameron Payne: "I think Cameron is going to be a good player. I think he can definitely at some point give us a boost. I think keeping all these guys engaged is important because you never know when you're going to need to make some changes."