Wade inspires Bulls to victory

Nobody knows where this Bulls season will wind up, but it’s pretty clear it will go only as far as Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade take it.
Wade scored 13 of his 30 points in the final period, including two steals in the final 20 seconds, as the Bulls outlasted the Kings, 102-99, in a wild affair Saturday night at the United Center.
Wade and Butler, who finished with 23 points, scored 20 of the Bulls’ 27 fourth-quarter points.
“We needed it bad,” said Wade, who made 12 of 15 free throws and also had four blocks. “Our performance in Atlanta (Friday) was awful. We needed to play harder.”
Coach Fred Hoiberg appreciated the effort. “I loved Dwayne’s mentality,” he said. “I thought he was aggressive all game long. Our energy (difference) was night and day from last night.”
Indeed, losses featuring 34-point deficits raise plenty of questions. “I don’t know if I broke a chair. Chairs are hard to break,” Hoiberg said in response to one of the more creative queries. “I’ve thrown a chair.”
Even Hoiberg’s motivational tactics were called into question before Saturday night’s late tipoff against the Kings at the United Center that followed Friday night’s debacle in Atlanta. Such is life in an underwhelming season.
“Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t,” Hoiberg said on whether angry antics work. “It’s like the science of a shootaround. Sometimes they have great energy in a shootaround, which we did (Friday) and had two really good practices going into that game. Obviously, it didn’t carry over.”
What did carry over was Hoiberg’s promised changes, though they didn’t affect the starting lineup despite Friday’s inexcusable opening. Wade, who completed his seventh back-to-back out of 11 possible, even posted an apology on Twitter.
“The first thing Larry Brown told me when I signed my contract with the Pacers is he doesn’t coach effort,” Hoiberg said of his playing days. “It’s about putting a game plan together. Guys have to get themselves prepared to play together and give an honest effort.”
DeMarcus Cousins, huge with 42 points and 14 rebounds, pushed the Kings ahead 99-97 on a difficult, driving hoop with 52.4 seconds left. Robin Lopez tied it with 36.8 seconds left on a tip-in of a Butler miss.
First, Wade stripped Garrett Temple and sank one of two free throws when officials whistled Cousins for a questionable touch foul as Wade missed the ensuing break-away dunk. Then Wade stripped Cousins and fed Michael Carter-Williams for a break-away dunk with 2.7 seconds left for the final margin.
“I think they made the absolute right call,” Cousins said sarcastically. “Incredible job by the referee crew tonight. I don’t have a complaint in the world.”
Said Wade: “The refs saw him come close to me and I thought he probably nudged me a little bit. Sometimes you get the call, sometimes you don’t.”
After keeping the same starters, Hoiberg pushed second-round pick Paul Zipser into a sixth-man role and waited until the second quarter to use Doug McDermott. Zipser fared well with 13 points and three 3-pointers, his second straight game in double figures.