January 28th, 2006
Atlanta (87) at Chicago (96)
Bulls overcome poor start, late run to defeat Hawks
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Boxscore ]
After the first 12 minutes, it appeared Chicago would be in for a rough night. The Hawks had begun to pull away after the game remained close for the first seven minutes and the Bulls just couldn't put the ball in the basket shooting a woeful 27.3% from the field in the quarter. But the home team were not about to wither away in front of their fans.
Though Atlanta would remain in control of the game for the first five minutes of the second quarter, Chicago began to show signs of life and finished the quarter on a 23-15 surge and tying the game at 46 on a dunk from Tyson Chandler before Joe Johnson made a layup with four seconds left in the half to put Atlanta back up by one entering halftime. A Kirk Hinrich three early in the third quarter gave Chicago a 51-50 lead and they would not trail again, leading by as many as 15 in the period.
Chicago continued to hold a double digit advantage for most of the fourth quarter. The Hawks at times cut the lead to 8 and appeared poised to make a final push but were ultimately unable to topple the Bulls, who triumphed 96-87.
Notes: Atlanta shot a franchise low 3/8 from the free throw line...Chicago had the advantage on the glass 49-43. Four players were in double digits for rebounds; Shawn Kemp (10), Andres Nocioni (11), Al Harrington (16) and Zaza Pachulia (10)...while the Bulls had a clear advantage in free throws, both struggled from downtown (4/22 for Atlanta, 4/23 for Chicago).
January 31st, 2006
Chicago (97) at Dallas (90)
Dirk scores 34 but Mavs fall 97-90
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Boxscore ]
Chicago seemingly had no answer for Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 34 points on 17/26 shooting, but held his teammates to a combined 40% from the field as they picked up an impressive 97-90 victory against one of the league's top teams.
The Bulls once again struggled in the first quarter trailing by as many as 12 before narrowing the gap to seven by the end of the period. They would not be denied in the second quarter however, outscoring Dallas 32-21 led by Ben Gordon who had nine second quarter points and finished the half with 14. Nowitzki scored 16 first half points for the Mavericks who suddenly found themselves trailing by four.
Dallas did not seem rattled as they began the third quarter strong, evening the score and trading buckets with the Bulls throughout the period. Gordon and Nowitzki continued to duel throughout the third, each finishing with 8 points. It would be Chicago who would take a 73-68 advantage into the final quarter.
Nowitzki and the Mavs still refused to quit, taking a 77-75 lead during a furious run to begin the fourth. It didn't take long for Chicago to recover however and the lead seemed to change on every possession until the Bulls pulled ahead for good at 87-86. Gordon struggled in the fourth shooting 1/6 and scoring only two points but Chris Duhon carried the load scoring 8 of his 17 points in the final stanza.
Chandler blocked a Nowitzki layup, but the All-Star forward still finished
with 34 points on 65% shooting
January Recap
Record: 28-17
Player Stats through January
February 1st, 2006
Francis, Yao named Players of the Month
NEW YORK, NY -- The NBA announced that Steve Francis of the Orlando Magic and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets have been named the East and West Players of the Month for January. Francis averaged 23.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 6.9 apg as well as 2.8 spg for the Magic, who went 7-9. Yao Ming had a fine all around month for the Rockets averaging 25.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 5 apg, 1.6 bpg and 1.2 spg as Houston went 9-7 despite Tracy McGrady missing five games due to injury.
February 1st, 2006
Williams and Paul top rookies in January
NEW YORK, NY -- The New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets' standout point guard Chris Paul has been named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. Paul averaged 19.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.3 apg and 1.9 spg as the Hornets went 5-10. Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honours went to the Atlanta Hawks' Marvin Williams, who tallied 18.3 ppg, 9 rpg and 2.9 apg while the Hawks went 4-11.
Leaders through January
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Blocks
Field Goals
Free Throws
Three Pointers
Minutes
Standings through January
Northwest
Southwest
Pacific
Atlantic
Central
Southeast
February 1st, 2006
Chicago (111) at New Orleans (94)
Hinrich sets assist record in blowout victory
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Boxscore ]
The Chicago Bulls began February in style with a 111-94 road victory over the New Orleans Hornets thanks to a spectacular performance by Kirk Hinrich. The fourth year guard set a new record for assists in a single game with 31, one assist higher than the mark set by his former coach Scott Skiles. Hinrich also contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals while containing Chris Paul, January's Western Conference Rookie of the Month.
"It was incredible," Ben Gordon said of his teammate. "He seemed to find everyone in the right spot every time. It felt like every time he made the pass, we made the shot. Incredible." Gordon finished with 17 points in one of the few games he has not led the team in scoring this season. Andres Nocioni led all scorers with 20 points in addition to grabbing 9 rebounds. Seven Bulls scored in double digits and the whole team combined to shoot 54.4% from the field.
Chicago scored the first six points of the game before the Hornets made a small run to even the score at 10. It would be the closest the Hornets would come the rest of the way however as the Bulls scored the next four points and finished the quarter with a six point lead. The Bulls pulled further ahead in the second quarter before blowing the game wide open in the third. Chicago's defense was extremely stingy allowing New Orleans only one point through the first eight minutes of play.
New Orleans would never challenge the lead again but managed to reduce the deficit late in the quarter as JR Smith threw down a huge dunk on Hinrich and freed himself up for a long two and a three pointer on consecutive possessions. Hinrich registered his 31st assist with just over two minutes remaining on a layup by Darius Songaila before the two teams went basket for basket the rest of the way.
Notes: The Bulls totalled 36 assists, twice as many as New Orleans...Tyson Chandler had all five of Chicago's blocks...Eric Piatkowski was the only Bulls player not to make a field goal. He was scoreless in the contest...every Hornets player scored at least two points.
Chandler was once again impressive in the paint
Current Record: 29-17
Next Opponent: Phoenix Suns (25-21)