NBA scores 2015: Jimmy Butler ignites Chicago again and 3 other things we learned

Butler continues his wonderful season with another dominant performance while Andrew Wiggins’ strong game isn’t enough to nab a Minnesota victory.

by Tim Cato

Jan 2, 2015, 12:55 PM UTC

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Jimmy Butler, have yourself a season.

He approached triple-double status on Thursday in the Bulls' 106-101 win against the Nuggets, scoring a game-high 26 points while nabbing eight rebounds and eight assists. Two days ago, the Bulls suffered an ugly loss to the Nets and Butler shot a miserable 3-for-12. For a moment, just a moment, he had looked vulnerable ... before firmly leaving any notion of that in 2014.

It was the third quarter that Butler took over for Chicago yet again, scoring 15 points on perfect shooting -- 4-4 from the field and 6-6 at the line. His tenacity to get into the lane stood out like it has all season, which is why he and James Harden on the only two players with more than 200 made free throws this season.

The Bulls didn't move to 23-10 because of Butler alone, of course. Pau Gasol also approached triple-double status with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks. Yes, Pau Gasol actually had nine blocks in 2015. The future is crazy. To seal the deal, Derrick Rose came alive in the fourth quarter (after looking rather comatose through the first three), hitting back-to-back floaters down the stretch and burying Denver with this stepback jumper that will leave you breathless at how gorgeous it looks.

But like they’ve said so many times this season, the Bulls couldn’t have gotten it done without Butler’s contributions. Give him an All-Star nod, give him the Most Improved Player award, give him whatever you can think of, because he’s earned it time and time again. This was just another reminder of something we’re going to see all throughout 2015.

3 other things we learned

A night after being ejected, Boogie Cousins is a mixed bag. His stats looked good -- 19 points on 8-14 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists -- and his team won. But the temperamental, mercurial big man also showed his other side, fouling out with two and a half minutes left in the game. His body language was poor, staying on the ground longer than needed after getting knocked down or committing a totally unnecessary, very obvious goaltend in the first quarter. After an amazing start to the season, Cousins’ illness and Mike Malone’s firing have combined to set a bad precedent for things happening in Sacramento. Here’s hoping this win and fresh new calendar is enough to turn Sacramento and Cousins back to what made them so enjoyable.

Andrew Wiggins is 19 years old and tearing up NBA opponents anyway. The Timberwolves lost to Sacramento, but Wiggins was incredible, scoring a game-high 27 points on 11-22 shooting with nine rebounds and four steals in 40 minutes of play. The no. 1 overall pick has had up and down moments in his first three months as an NBA player, as you'd expect from anyone his age, but you could definitely argue this game was his best moment yet.

Wilson Chandler could determine a playoff series. Not for his current team, of course -- the Denver Nuggets are four games out of the no. 8 seed in the West but might as well be 40 with the Thunder gaining steam in front of them. Instead, if the Nuggets continue to fall out of the playoff picture, Chandler is a plausible trade target (Denver reportedly shopped him this summer) for teams looking for a 3-and-D wing player with size. He doesn't do either as well as he used to, but the 6'8 wing's 22-point effort (8-16 shooting, two 3-pointers) on Thursday shows why several NBA playoff teams would love to bring him in to improve a bench.