As Brian Scalabrine Salutes United Center Fans, Local TV Station Knows His Best Position

Chicago Bulls Notebook: Back-2-Back Regular Season Champs

The Chicago Bulls will head into the playoffs as the top seed in the East for the second year in a row. We look at how they got there.

Cavaliers Vs. Bulls Final Score: Chicago Wins Easily, 107-75

The Chicago Bulls finished off their season in style with a 107-75 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. The win gives Chicago a 50-16 record during the lockout-abbreviated regular season, guaranteeing that the Bulls will at least have a share of the NBA regular season title.

Chicago dominated on Thursday night even while resting Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kyle Korver, beating the Cavaliers in nearly every facet of the game. The Bulls shot 53 percent from the field while limiting the Cavs to making just 32 percent of their shots, and had a huge 60-38 advantage on rebounds.

John Lucas III led the Bulls in scoring with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, plus five other players scored in double-figures for Chicago. Both Joakim Noah (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (10 points, 12 rebounds) put up double-doubles in the winning effort. Tristian Thompson led Cleveland with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

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Cavaliers Vs. Bulls Score Update: Chicago Leads 58-45 At Halftime

The Chicago Bulls are leading 58-45 over the Cleveland Cavaliers going into halftime on Thursday night as both teams conclude their 2011-2012 regular seasons. The Bulls are gearing up for a first-round match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers, but the Cavaliers are simply getting ready to watch ping pong balls.

The game was close for most of the first half, but Chicago found its footing in the final six minutes of the second quarter to build a solid lead. Over that six-minute span, the Bulls went on a 17-8 run to cap off an impressive offensive first half. Chicago shot 58 percent from the field while out-rebounding Cleveland, 28-17.

The Bulls have spread out the wealth so far, with seven different players scoring at least six points in the half. Joakim Noah led the way with nine points and eight rebounds. Antawn Jamison and Tristan Thompson lead Cleveland with eight points apiece.

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Bull Vs. Cavaliers 1st Quarter Update: Bulls Up By One After One

The Chicago Bulls, playing without starters Luol Deng, Derrick Rose and reserve Kyle Korver, took a slim one-point lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 26-25, after one quarter of play at Chicago's United Center on the final night of the NBA regular season.

Richard Hamilton leads the Bulls with eight points as the teams play in the second quarter. A Bulls' victory tonight over Cleveland will give them 50 for the strike-shortened season against just 16 loses. They will enter the first round of the NBA playoffs, which get under way on Saturday, with the best record and top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland comes into Thursday night's game with a 21-44 record, which leaves the Cavs out of the playoffs for the second straight season following the controversial departure of LeBron James.

Korver's Will Miss His First Game Of Season In Bulls' Final Regular Season Tilt With Cavaliers

Chicago Bulls' guard Kyle Korver has played in every game this season, but coach Tom Thibodeau has decided that Korver will not see action in game No, 66 Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Chicago.

With the NBA playoffs beginning on Saturday, and the Bulls having already clinched the top seed and home-court advantage through the Eastern Conference championship series. Korver will sit out the regular-season finale, as a coaches' decision, along with Bulls' starters Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, who is just back from an ankle injury.

Rose logged 27 minutes in Tuesday's game, scoring 10 points on 3 for 11 shooting. Thibodeau has only had his starting lineup together for 15 of the 66 games in this strike-shortened NBA season.

Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and Omer Asik will be the only Bulls players to see action in all 66 games this season. Korver, who will fall a game short of that mark, averaged 8.1 points a game in 22 minutes of action during the regular season. Deng and Rose average 37.1 points between them to lead the Bull in scoring.

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Bulls Vs. Cavaliers: Chicago Expected To Rest Rose, Deng and Korver In Thursday's Regiular-Season Finale

ESPN Chicago is reporting that the Bulls, who are shooting for their 50th win of the season Thursday night at home vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers, will not play Derrick Rose, Luol Deng or Kyle Korver.

Deng and Korver each played 34 minutes in the Bulls 92-87 win over Indiana Wednesday night. Rose has been out battling an injury.

The Bulls clinched the Eastern Conference title with the Boston Celtics victory Tuesday over the Miami Heat. Depending on the outcome of Thursday's game between San Antonio and Golden State, with a victory over Cleveland, the Bulls can finish the shortened 66-game season in no worse than a tie for best-record in the league with San Antonio.

Cleveland comes into the game at the United Center with a record of 21-44. Chicago stands at 49-16.

The NBA Playoffs begin Saturday. Top-seed Chicago will play Philadelphia, the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, in the opening round.

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NBA Playoffs 2012: 76ers Guard, Evan Turner, Wants To Face The Bulls

The Chicago Bulls, finishing their regular season schedule on Thursday night, have been the topic of conversation recently, as Philadelphia 76ers SG Evan Turner has officially claimed he would prefer to face the No. 1 seeded Bulls instead of the Miami Heat:

"I think we'll be able to compete well against Chicago," Turner told the Times, "and have an opportunity to win the series."

After catching heat for a few days, Turner said in a tweet Thursday: "And bulls fans: please stop tweeting me about the playoffs. I didn't say anything negative. All I said is we match up better with them."

Regardless of the outcome of Thursday night's game, the Bulls will finish the 2011-12 NBA Season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and a win guarantees at least a tie with the San Antonio Spurs for the best recording in the league.

The Bulls players responded with comparatively less vigor, as PG Derrick Rose summed their reaction by saying:

"There's been teams that said they want to play us before," Rose said. "So I don't got nothing to say about it."

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Jimmy Butler And His Stuffed Husky 'Royce' Had The Best Day Ever

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2012 NBA Playoffs Schedule: Chicago Bulls Open Postseason On Saturday

Cavaliers Vs. Bulls Preview: Chicago Ends Regular Season With Cleveland

The Chicago Bulls will go for their 50th win in the final game of the regular season on Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers come to the United Center. The Bulls have spent the last few games getting their starting lineup playoff ready and coach Tom Thibodeau hinted after Chicago's Wednesday night over the Indianapolis Pacers that his starters would see similar minutes. Every Bulls starter played 23 minutes or more against the Pacers, with Luol Deng and Joakim Noah each logging 34 minutes.

This will be the final game of the season for Cleveland, who enters at 21-44. The Cavs have the fifth worst record in the league and have put themselves in position to get lucky in the draft lottery.

Date / Time: 7:00 PM CT, Thursday, April 26, 2012

Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois

TV: Comcast SportsNet

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Bulls Vs. Pacers Final Score: Chicago Wins 92-87 In Indy

The Chicago Bulls already have the top seed in the Eastern Conference wrapped up, but that didn't stop coach Tom Thibodeau from playing his starters for much of Wednesday night's 92-87 win over the Indiana Pacers. It stands to reason to give Chicago's ideal starting five some time to gel before the playoffs begin, seeing as Derrick Rose, Richard Hamilton and Luol Deng have each missed large chunks of the regular season with an assortment of injuries. Tonight, as Chicago walked all over Indy, the team's stars certainly looked like they were ready for the postseason.

Kyle Korver came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points for Chicago. Derrick Rose had 10 points and seven assists on just 3-of-11 shooting, but moved well in the win. Carlos Boozer had 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added seven rebounds. Joakim Noah had 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

Indy was led by guard Lance Stephenson, who scored 22 points.

The win moves Chicago to 49-16.

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Bulls Vs. Pacers Score Update: Chicago Leads 67-59 After Three Quarters

The Chicago Bulls are leading 67-59 against the Indiana Pacers after three quarters on Wednesday night as they battle to end the season strong. The Bulls led by 13 points to open the quarter but the Pacers have worked to keep the game somewhat close.

Even after a pair of poor offensive quarters where the Bulls scored a combined 35 points, they're still shooting an okay 45 percent from the field. Indiana hasn't faired as well, shooting 41 percent from the field, plus the Bulls have their usual advantage on the boards.

Carlos Boozer leads Chicago with 16 points, plus Joakim Noah has 14 points and 13 rebounds. David West leads Indiana with 13 points on the night.

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Bulls Vs. Pacers Score Update: Chicago Leads 49-36 At Halftime

The Chicago Bulls are leading 49-36 at halftime over the Indiana Pacers after an absolutely dominant defensive effort in the second quarter. Taking a 32-24 lead after 12 minutes, the Bulls held Indiana to just 12 points in the second quarter while expanding their lead to 13 points.

On the half, Indiana is shooting just 37 percent while Chicago knocked down 50 percent of its shots. The Bulls hammered the Pacers on the boards, 25-16, and after failing to force a single turnover in the first quarter, Chicago got five takeaways in the second period.

Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer lead the Bulls with 10 points apiece, although nearly all of those points came in the first quarter. Kyle Korver came off the bench to put up nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. David West leads the Pacers with eight points despite playing only nine minutes in the first half.

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Bulls Vs. Pacers Score Update: Chicago Leads 32-24 After First Period

The Chicago Bulls are leading 32-24 over the Indiana Pacers after one quarter of play on Wednesday night. The Bulls got the vast majority of their points from the frontline in those first 12 minutes, with Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah leading the way.

Shooting a solid 55 percent from the field, the Bulls got their points despite getting little production from Derrick Rose, Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson. Chicago's starting backcourt combined to shoot 2-of-8 in the first quarter, but Watson did hit a three-pointer late in the quarter to give the Bulls an eight point lead.

The Bulls didn't force a single turnover in the period, but they dominated the boards like usual. Boozer, Noah and Luol Deng powered Chicago to a 13-6 advantage on rebounds in the first period. Boozer shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the field en route to a team-leading 10 points and four rebounds, plus Noah added eight points and five rebounds.

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2012 NBA Playoff Standings: Bulls Secure No. 1 Seed

It was mostly a formality anyway, but now it's official: The Chicago Bulls will the the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second year in a row. Chicago was able to secure the top seed last night after the Miami Heat— who sat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh— lost to the Boston Celtics, who themselves were sitting Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

Chicago's opponent, though, is still up in the air. The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks are tied for the East's bottom two spots with a 34-30 record, but the Knicks hold the tiebreaker and at the moment are slotted for the seventh seed. Both teams have two games remaining, and the results of those will decide who the Bulls see in the first round. The Sixers end the season by visiting the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons, while the Knicks finish up by hosting the Los Angeles Clippers and visiting the Charlotte Bobcats.

Philadelphia would have to win out and hope for a Knicks loss to grab the No. 7 seed, though it's debatable if they even want it. Despite the Bulls having the best record in the NBA, the Sixers defeated Chicago once this year and played them close in three other match ups. The Heat, meanwhile, took the Sixers out in five games in last year's playoffs and swept the four-game season series this year.

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Bulls Vs. Pacers: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

There are just two games left remaining in the regular season for the Chicago Bulls, who are preparing for what they believe will be a deep run in the postseason. They'll play the next-to-last game on the schedule Wednesday when they travel to Indiana. The Pacers have had a fine season -- they'll be the three-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs -- but they've never really put much heat on the Bulls in the Central Division standings. Which says a lot about just how good Chicago has been all season long.

Related: 2012 NBA Standings: Chicago Bulls Magic Number Down To 1 For No. 1 Seed In East

Here's the key info:

Game Date & Time: Wednesday, April 25, 6:00 p.m. CT

TV: CSN-Chicago

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2012 NBA Standings: Chicago Bulls Magic Number Down To 1 For No. 1 Seed In East

The Chicago Bulls are on the verge of clinching the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Eastern Conference playoffs -- they're two games ahead of the Miami Heat as the final week of the regular season begins. With two games left, Chicago's magic number is one. That means that any Bulls win or Miami Heat loss gives the top seed to Chicago.

Here's how the final week of the regluar season looks for each team.

Chicago: at Indiana, vs. Cleveland
Miami: at Boston, at Washington

Miami will be in Boston on Tuesday night, and if the Heat don't lose then, the Bulls will have the chance to take care of it themselves against Indiana on Wednesday. They'll finish out the regular season against the Cavaliers on Thursday.

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NBA Standings 2012: Bulls Close To Clinching No. 1 Seed In East

While they haven't exactly dominated down the stretch, the events that occurred on Saturday night went a long way towards letting the Chicago Bulls clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference going into the postseason. With just two remaining games on their schedule, the Bulls are 48-16 this season.

That record has them 2.5 games above the Miami Heat going into the final week of the season, although there is one scenario in which the Heat could conceivably land the top seed. If Chicago loses its final two games to Indiana and Cleveland while Miami wins its final three games, both teams would finish at 48-18 on the season.

In that case, tiebreaker rules would go into effect, which would ultimately hurt the Bulls. Because the two teams split their head-to-head matches this season, the next tiebreaker would be record against Eastern Conference opponents. Assuming the aforementioned scenario plays out, Miami would finish 37-11 against the East while Chicago would finish 36-12. That would give Miami the top seed.

But alas, that would require basically everything to go wrong through the end of the season. With a highly winnable game against the Cavaliers to finish the season, the Bulls have pretty good odds of getting at least one more victory over the final two games. In order to clinch the top seed for the playoffs, that's all they'll need.

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Bulls Vs. Mavericks Final Score: Chicago Fends Off Dallas Comeback, Wins 93-83

The Chicago Bulls (48-16) took a dominant lead in the first quarter and then fended off a furious comeback attempt from the Dallas Mavericks (36-29) to win 93-83 on Saturday night.

The Bulls silenced the Mavericks offense in the first quarter, holding them to a 21-8 score, but the Mavericks fought back to take a 56-55 lead with 3:00 remaining in the third quarter. PF Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks' comeback charge as he led the team with 17 points and 7 rebounds. SG Delonte West (13 pts), G Rodrique Beaubois (16 pts) and SG Vince Carter (15 pts) also all crossed into double digits for Dallas, but they could not score enough to outlast a healthy Bulls offense.

The following Bulls players all had double-digit games:

• PF Carlos Boozer (12 pts, 10 reb)
• SF Luol Deng (22 pts, 6 reb)
• PG Derrick Rose (11 pts, 8 pts)
• SG Richard Hamilton (19 pts)
• C Joakim Noah (8 pts, 14 reb, 5 offensive reb)
• SF Kyle Korver (11 pts)

The Bulls will be back in action on Wednesday night when they take on division rival the Indiana Pacers.

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Bulls Vs. Mavericks Score Update: Chicago Leads 44-38 At Halftime

After holding the Dallas Mavericks to just eight points in the first quarter, the Chicago Bulls find themselves hanging on to a six-point lead at halftime with a 44-38 score.

PG Derrick Rose is back in the lineup and has already score 9 points to with 4 assists, while PF Carlos Boozer and SG Richard Hamilton have each already collected 10 points. In the second quarter, however, the Mavericks managed to out-score the Bulls 30-23.

PF Dirk Nowitzki has dominated the Bulls defense so far. The long-time Mavericks forward has already collected 5 rebounds and 12 points. The Bulls will look to contain Nowitzki and the Mavericks offense to prevent a second half comeback.

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Mavericks Vs. Bulls Score Update: Chicago Holds Dallas To 8 Points In 1st Quarter

Derrick Rose is back in the lineup for the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night as the team hosts the Dallas Mavericks, but once again it's Chicago's defense that is getting the job done in the first quarter. The Bulls lead the Mavericks 21-8 heading into quarter No. 2, with the Bulls' defense routinely forcing misses and turnovers from the reigning champs.

Richard Hamilton leads the Bulls with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter. Power forward Carlos Boozer has eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

The Mavericks are led by power forward Dirk Nowitzki, who was held to just four points in the first quarter.

Dallas shot just 4-of-19 in the first quarter.

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Derrick Rose Injury Update: Star Point Guard Returns As Bulls Host Mavericks

After falling to the Miami Heat on Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls have put themselves in a tough position. To guarantee the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls must win-out on a schedule that includes the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers. As Dallas comes to the United Center tonight, Chicago will welcome back star point guard Derrick Rose, who has been battling a sprained right ankle and sore right foot.

Update: Derrick Rose Injury: Star Guard Is Upset With Team Over Ankle Taping

Rose will be in the starting lineup for the Bulls tonight.

Derrick Rose slated to return to the starting lineup vs Mavs. #DALvsCHI

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 21, 2012

Rose has missed 26 games for Chicago this season due to an assortment of injuries.

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Derrick Rose Injury: Star Guard Is Upset With Team Over Ankle Taping

Bulls Vs. Mavericks: Bulls Look To Shake Losing Streak

The Chicago Bulls (47-16) host the Dallas Mavericks (36-28) as they try and stay ahead of the Miami Heat in the race for the East's No. 1 seed.