Butler’s big night leads Bulls over Milwaukee
CHICAGO >> Jimmy Butler had 32 points and a season-high 10 assists to lead the streaking Chicago Bulls to a 117-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Pau Gasol scored 26 points with 11 rebounds, and Taj Gibson added 11 points and 14 boards as the Bulls led the entire way in their season-best fifth straight win.
Derrick Rose returned to the Bulls after missing three straight games with a sore right hamstring. He showed no effects of the injury and took the ball to the basket all night, finishing with 16 points.
Butler was coming off a record-breaking performance Sunday, when he scored 40 of his 42 points in the second half of a 115113 victory at Toronto to surpass Michael Jordan’s team mark for points in a half. This time, Butler had 20 points in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting.
Khris Middleton scored 26 for Milwaukee, and Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points and 12 assists.
Milwaukee got to 9089 on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s basket with a minute left in the third quarter, but the Bulls answered with an 8-0 run. Antetokounmpo finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Chicago shot 61 percent in the first half and led 6761. Gasol scored 13 points and Gibson added nine. Middleton led the Bucks with 18 on 7-of-12 shooting. KNICKS 107, HAWKS 101 >> Arron Afflalo and Carmelo Anthony both scored 23 points, and New York almost lost a 16-point lead before holding on to beat Atlanta, giving the Knicks their second win over the Hawks in three days.
The Knicks, who have won three of four, also beat the Hawks 117-97 in New York on Sunday.
The Knicks led by 16 in the third quarter but saw the lead reduced to two points in the final minute before Jose Calderon scored on a drive with 18 seconds remaining.
Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 19 points. Jeff Teague had 16.
The undersized Hawks struggled in their matchups with the two 7-footers in New York’s lineup, Robin Lopez and rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
With New York leading 99-95 and less than 2 minutes remaining, players had to be separated after Porz- ingis and Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore battled for a rebound. Following a video review of the altercation, each player was called for a technical foul.
Porzingis made two free throws but Al Horford answered with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three. Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder made one of two free throws with 40 seconds left.
Calderon’s basket pushed the lead to four before Mill- sap dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds.
Afflalo opened the second half with two 3s, giving the Knicks a 60-49 lead and prompting a timeout by Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.
Less than a minute later, Budenholzer called another timeout following back-toback baskets by Porzingis and Lopez. Porzingis blocked a shot by Millsap, leading to the jam by Lopez.