The Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls squared off on Wednesday evening in the Windy city, in a game that saw two of the NBA's emerging stars take center stage.
The first quarter was a tightly contested match, as both teams went toe-to-toe in the New Year. Denver ended up winning the first quarter, 23-22. Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler finished the game with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. On a night where the bench didn't contribute much, all of Chandler's points would be important for Denver.
Quarter number two came and went with Denver winning it, 30-20, and the score was 53-42 at halftime. The Nuggets seemed to have a comfortable lead against Chicago and were poised to win the game, but the Bulls used all 24 remaining minutes to change that. Young star Jimmy Butler had 26 points on the night for the Bulls, along with eight rebounds and eight assists. He was the game's leading scorer and helped Chicago bounce back into the game.
Bulls’ newest big man Pau Gasol had nine rebounds for his club tonight, but also pitched in 17 points and nine blocks. Denver had to find different ways to get into the paint on a night where the Bulls combined for 18 blocks. Chicago came into the second half with a comeback on their minds, and they won the quarter convincingly, 35-21.
While Kenneth Faried had a monster game with 18 points and 19 rebounds, it was the Bulls' Derrick Rose, who shone the brightest when it mattered the most. Rose scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and led Chicago to a 101-106 win.
On a night when both teams shot poorly from the field, it was the costless throws that made all the difference. The Nuggets were 81 percent from the charity stripe, while Chicago was just a little bit better at 88 percent. Those numbers may not seem like much, but they play a large role in determining games.
Both teams don't play again until Saturday when Chicago plays against Boston at 8 pm ET, while Denver hosts Memphis at 9 pm ET.