March 06--Both Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson are in the starting lineup Saturday night when the Bulls try to avoid sinking below .500 against the Houston Rockets.
And in a surprise, Nikola Mirotic will play for the first time since Jan. 25. Mirotic will be on a minute limit though.
Butler, the team's leading scorer and best defender, hasn't played since suffering a left knee injury on Feb. 5 in Denver. The Bulls went 3-8 without him and are trying to stop a four-game skid.
Butler jumps right into the fray; he'll guard Rockets All-Star guard James Harden in the team's first meeting this season.
Gibson missed one game with a mnior right hamstring strain. The Bulls currently sit ninth in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Mirotic underwent an appendectomy on Jan. 27 and then needed a hematoma removal when complications arose. He practiced without incident on Friday.
