Nov. 14--Jimmy Butler didn't get as upset about a last-second shot as the last time the Bulls and Hornets met.
Butler, peeved that reserve Brian Roberts hoisted an unnecessary jumper at the buzzer of the Hornets' 25-point victory last week, knocked down the clinching jumper with 5.4 seconds left in the Bulls' 102-97 victory Friday night.
It capped Butler's 27-point night, which included a season-high-tying 14 trips to the free-throw line.
"I want him to shoot more," said Derrick Rose, whose eight assists slightly mitigated 4-for-14 shooting. "He still didn't shoot enough for me. But it's the (ninth) game. We're working on it."
Indeed, the Bulls avenged their embarrassing loss but didn't look great offensively doing so, enduring a difficult third quarter and ending their streak with at least seven made 3-pointers at 11 games that dated to last season.
"Good question," Pau Gasol said when asked if the Bulls have an identity yet. "We're a team that has a lot of talent. When we play hard and play together, we're tough to beat. We're trying to play with pace and flow offensively. But I don't know if there's an identity per se or if you can label it yet."
Gasol posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, including a big one on Kemba Walker in the final minute of a one-possession game. Joakim Noah returned from missing one game with left knee soreness with an active 18 rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes.
"Jo was awesome. He had great pop, bounce," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He was out there yelling and screaming at everybody. That's always a good sign."
All these successful individual performances speak to what could be a greater collective whole at some point. The Bulls just haven't clicked completely yet. And yet they're 6-3.
"The only way we're going to find our true identity is giving 100 percent effort," Noah said.
Emblematic of a team still finding its way, Hoiberg played unheralded reserve E'Twaun Moore the entire fourth quarter. Moore delivered strong defense and four of his 11 points in the period.
"He's so steady and solid. I had to have him out there," Hoiberg said. "He was defending, knocking down shots for us."
Rose smiled recalling his AAU battles with Moore, an East Chicago, Ind., native from their middle school days.
"To be playing with him now is kind of weird because we had a lot of battles going against each other," Rose said. "I know his competitive spirit. I know why he's here. He deserves every second that he's out there."
Moore shrugged, both at his past battles with Rose and his current role.
"I used to get him sometimes. He might've got me a couple of times so we used to go back and forth," Moore said. "It was real fun. We never knew we'd be playing with each other today. It's kind of special.
"But surprised? I don't even think about it. I just play. I guess Coach has confidence in me."
The Bulls have confidence their best days are ahead.
"I think we're fine," Butler said. "Everyone's going to get more and more comfortable as the year goes along. We just have to keep working on our games."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
