Maybe it was the back-to-back games in Texas that wore the Bulls down after they built a 17-point second-quarter lead.
By the middle of the third quarter, the Bulls were down by 18, a 35-point turnaround that was, um, “spurred” by a 37-point San Antonio third quarter. The Bulls made only six of 23 shots in that quarter, while the Spurs were draining 15 of 21. The Spurs began the second half with a 22-4 run.
Was it fatigue? It could have been; back-to-backs are always tough in the NBA, but they are even more difficult when both games on the road.
Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 33 points and Joakim Noah had 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough; Taj Gibson sat out most of the second half after not making a single one of his seven shots from the floor.
Meanwhile, Parker scored 21 with seven assists — right around his season average. Regardless of what you think about the juicy celebrity stories surrounding his wife Eva Longoria’s divorce filing yesterday, the fact that an athlete can shut that out and perform does deserve some (grudging) recognition.
The Bulls will surely welcome today’s off day before they take on the Mavericks in Dallas Friday night.