BULLS 103, GRIZZLIES 97
MEMPHIS -- Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Nikola Mirotic added a season-best 27, and the Chicago Bulls snapped Memphis' six-game winning streak with a 103-97 victory over the Grizzlies on Friday night.
Butler connected on 11 of 21 in the game, while Mirotic connected on all six of his shots beyond the arc, setting a season standard for three-pointers made. Aaron Brooks scored 17 points and Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Butler also had 10 rebounds as the Bulls outrebounded Memphis 51-45.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 21 points, while Beno Udrih added 15 points before leaving with a hand injury in the fourth quarter. Marc Gasol had 13 points, but was 5 of 15 from the field, part of Memphis shooting 39 percent for the game. Vince Carter scored 10 for Memphis.
The Bulls defense kept Memphis from getting to the inside, but even when they did Gasol, and Zach Randolph had trouble converting. The Grizzlies front line duo was a combined 9 of 26 from the field in the game, and Randolph didn't even play in the fourth quarter as Memphis tried to come back with outside shooting.
Meanwhile, Pau Gasol was limited to six points on 2 of 7 shooting for Chicago.
Memphis was able to get within three points on a couple of occasions in the final 36 seconds, and Conley's three-pointer with 13.8 seconds left pulled Memphis within 99-97.
Sports on 12/20/2014