Derrick Rose was out again, but the Bulls had Watson and Richard Hamilton back in action. The Phoenix Suns are in some strange form of a rebuilding phase. Trying to both balance loyalty to veterans like Steve Nash and Grant Hill, with a mix of tall guys that can bring some one-dimension to the floor with any change on the floor. Needless to say, they have been little threat to any contending teams, but that doesn’t mean their high octane style of offense hasn’t made for some good basketball.
Watson’s elbow was still sore, however, that did not stop him from embracing a Steve Nash matchup. The first quarter dominated by both of these guys. Watson scored 13 points early, and Nash acted as the Sun’s run stopper. The Bulls scored 39 in the first quarter, their highest of the season. Watson finished with 23 points and 5 dimes in a 33 minute start.
In the second, Carlos took over. The Suns had an opportunity to close the gap when Boozer worked both sides of the floor nicely. He had 26 points in the first half alone, and nearly all of his points were quality looks. Carlos was playing smart basketball, he even did a great job reading Watson’s plays and positions to get himself spacing.
The second half was all Bulls. Omer Asik outplayed Sun’s center, Marcin Gortat with ease, and Joakim was solid all night, scoring his 3rd double-double of the year(13/12). Hamilton led all Bulls players in assists with 6, and contributed 11 points in just 21 minutes.
The Bulls defeat the Phoenix Suns, 118-97 and move to 13-3 for the year on Coach Tom Thibodeau’s birthday.
Next Game: Friday, January 20th at the Cleavland Cavaliers. Start time is 6:30PM CST
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