NBA -- Bulls tame Grizzlies behind six Mirotic 3s
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 21 Dec 2014
CHICAGO -- Nikola Mirotic showed the might that made him one of this year's prized rookies.
The 6-foot-9 gunslinger swished all six of his 3s and the Chicago Bulls plucked another road win on Friday night, a close 103-97 over the Memphis Grizzilies at the FedEx Forum.
Mirotic ended up with 27 points, a marksmanship that showcased a 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 7-for-8 clip from the free throw stripe. He also had eight rebounds, an assist and a block in 30 minutes off the bench.
"I think tonight he definitely didn't play with any fear" Bulls forward Pau Gasol said of his frontcourt mate. Gasol did have explode offensively like Mirotic but the 7-foott Spaniard finished with a decent six points and 11 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler was huge for the Bulls as well, tallying 31 points and 10 boards while Aaron Brooks contributed 17 as a reserve.
Mike Conley lit the Memphis offense for 21 but it wasn't enough to hold off the Bulls as the Grizzlies made only 37 of 94 shots (39.4 percent), including just 2-for-13 from 3-point range (15.4 percent).
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for a healthy 21 points and 22 rebounds but the Grizzlies' twin towers missed a combined 17 of 26 field goals. Beno Udrih finished with 15 and Vince Carter had 10, but no other Grizzly scored in double figures.
"Tonight was a game where we didn't have enough effort due in large part to very tired legs," Memphis head coach Dave Joerger told ESPN.com
With their second consecutive win, the Bulls improved to 17-9, fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Grizzlies, who suffered their second home debacle all season, fell slightly to 21-5, which is still a good second place in the Western Conference behind the smoking-hot 22-3 Golden State Warriors. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Nikola Mirotic scored a career-best 27 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Grizzlies in Memphis, 103-97, on Friday night.
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