But Butler took the team on his shoulders, scoring 42 points – 40 of them in the second half to eclipse Jordan’s franchise record for points in a half – as Chicago beat Toronto in a nail-biter, 115-113.
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Butler broke the record formerly held by Jordan, who tallied 39 in the second half against the Bucks back on February 16, 1989. Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler celebrates a three-point basket against the Toronto Raptors during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.
“I don’t want to be compared to [Jordan]; just look at what he’s done for the game”, said Butler, fittingly wearing an Air Jordan sweatshirt.
“We had some shots that didn’t go in to start the fourth quarter and I thought we got discouraged and we let our energy get turned around the other way and it just kind of snowballed from there”, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “Even though I didn’t play that much in the second half”, he said after the game, “I still take it upon myself at the end of the game… if I’m fine out there on one leg I’ll still try and see a stop”. “You don’t see individual efforts like this too often”. He needed a stitch to close a wound after being struck in the face by the forearm of Toronto’s DeMarre Carroll in the second quarter. Keeping Kyle Lowry this offseason was huge for the Raptors and his return has paid big dividends as he’s averaging 20.6, 6.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds.
John Wall, who led Washington with 14 points, hit just six of his 21 field goal attempts.
In Denver, C.J. McCollum had 25 points and seven assists to lead Portland to a win over the Nuggets.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Goran Dragic finished with 15 points and seven assists and Dwyane Wade shook off an illness to score 10 points for the Heat.
If you were watching the Sunday afternoon game between the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls, you were treated to an unbelievable second half.
DeRozan led the way with 10 points in a first quarter that saw the teams combine for 8-for-10 from three-point range.
Dallas had 10 points in the first quarter – its low for any period this season – and shot 36 percent for the game, compared to 56 percent for Miami. Miami allowed its fewest points of the season.
Jack will have surgery on a date that has not been determined.
The Lakers, coming off victories over Boston and Philadelphia, have won three in a row for the first time since February 22-27 against Boston, Utah and Milwaukee.
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For one, Chicago’s star player Derrick Rose has missed his past two games with hamstring injuries, according to UPI.
