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The Chicago Bulls visited the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and came out with a victory, 118-110. Leading the way for the visiting team was their All-Star guard Jimmy Butler who played without Dwyane Wade on the night.
Butler felt the need to take on more of the offensive load of the team and he delivered by scoring a season-high 40 points and adding seven rebounds and six assists. It may be a little bit surprising as the team were already on the second game of their back-to-back set and were expected to show some signs of fatigue. However, The 6-foot-7 Marquette product already made it clear to his coach, Fred Hoiberg, what his intention was prior to the game.
“Coach, I’m going for 40 points tonight.”
Butler indeed stayed true to his word and made sure he finished with that number of points. His teammate, Taj Gibson also expected him to have a great performance as the two talked before the game and he saw the fire and will to win of Butler.
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“Jimmy came to me before the game and said: ‘C’mon, let’s get it done. I saw it in his eyes, the desperation, the understanding we have to win this game, a big game for us on a back to back after losing a tough one, which we thought we should have won. I saw it in his eyes; he was intense. He’s showing more leadership day by day.”
Hoiberg also talked about the two-time All-Star's incredible performance and only had good words to say about him and the confidence he's been showing.
“He is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence. That’s where it starts. Jimmy thinks every time he steps on the floor he’s the best player out there and more often than not he’s right.”
Bulls fans may want to tell their star guard to continue to let his coach know how many points he'll target prior to the start of their games as it seems like a good idea for them after getting a road win on Sunday. It will also be interesting to see how Butler will follow-up on this performance when they face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.
