Feb. 04--With Jimmy Butler a late scratch due to tendinitis in his left knee, E'Twaun Moore picked up the slack offensively and poured in a career-high 24 points to help the Bulls snap a two-game losing skid. Derrick Rose added 21 points and nine assists while Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 30 points for the Kings, who rallied late but in the end couldn't catch the Bulls (27-21).
No Butler, no problem
The Bulls found out about an hour and a half before tipoff that Butler would miss his first game of the season. Tony Snell got the start but it was Moore who took it upon himself to carry the scoring load. Moore went 9-for-16 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.
"Our team needed a spark and it was an important game for us so I tried to come out with a lot of energy and tried to provide that spark for us," Moore said.
Moore hit the Kings with three long-range jumpers at the outset and later was effective taking the ball to the hoop. He also came up big defensively on the Kings' Rudy Gay, who had a dramatic size advantage but was held to 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
"E'Twaun is a rock-solid kid," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "You're comfortable when he's on the floor whether he's making shots or not just because he does a lot of things. Even late when they were denying Derrick the ball I thought E'Twaun made a couple of really big plays for us."
Walking wounded
Injury concerns continue to mount. Butler said he doesn't believe he'll need an MRI on his knee that was injured against the Utah Jazz on Monday night when he went knee-to-knee with an opponent.
"We'll see how it feels (Thursday) when I wake up and get some treatment," Butler said. "I'll try to get back out there."
Also concerning for the Bulls is the status of Gasol, who was icing his left hand in the locker room after the game. In the fourth quarter, Gasol collided with teammate Doug McDermott and the center's hand got caught up between bodies. During a timeout late in the game, a fan yelled to Gasol, "your hand hurts, Pau!" and the veteran center responded with "yes, I wish it didn't."
X-rays on Gasol's hand were negative but he isn't sure if it will respond well enough to play against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
"It's unfortunate but it's pretty sore right now," Gasol said. "I can't really make a fist. We'll see how it feels (Thursday) and take it one day at a time."
Moving in stereo
When it came to ball movement, the Bulls had one of their better efforts of the season. They swung the ball effectively on the perimeter to create open looks.
"I talked to the guys about that -- it was fun basketball," Hoiberg said. "The ball was swinging side-to-side and we were getting it into the right guys' hands. We shifted the defense before we got into the ball screen and good things happened with that."
The Bulls finished with 26 assists, led by Rose's nine, eight in the first half.
Butler, who spent the game on the bench with teammates, said he learned a few things just by watching.
"How good you can play when that ball moves and we guard and we rebound and take care of the ball for the most part," Butler said. "I'm happy that we got this win."
