In a bizarre matchup between the Bulls and Clippers on national television, the Bulls were able to get the upper hand late in the fourth quarter to help beat the Clippers 83-80. Blake Griffin was ejected from the game after a hard foul on Taj Gibson in the third quarter. Derrick Rose finally took off the mask midway through the game after a frustrating start.
Pau Gasol started off hot with 15 points in the first quarter, and continued his stellar play in the fourth quarter as he ended with 24 points. A day after Jimmy Butler’s terrific scoring clinic against the Boston Celtics, Butler decided to become a facilitator as he scored 14 points but dished out eight assists.
The story of the night was Derrick Rose taking off his mask and scoring nine points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 11 total points. Derrick Rose faced off Chris Paul for the first time since 2011.