Unser Chat » the 102-90 victory over the hapless

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls have experienced such a turnaround this season that their wins are now being rated. According to some observers, the 102-90 victory over the hapless, short-handed Milwaukee Bucks didnt rate because the expected lopsided blowout didnt materialize. The Bulls, who spent much of the first two months of the season below .500, took issue with that assessment. "Just because theyre the worst team in the league doesnt mean . nothing, really," Taj Gibson said. "Its tough because youre playing against guys fighting for their jobs, fighting for their livelihoods. Theyre going to play hard." Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich had 17 points apiece to lead seven players in double figures, and the Bulls, despite some occasional lapses in the fourth quarter, cruised. Carlos Boozer and D.J. Augustin scored 14 points apiece. Gibson added 13, Mike Dunleavy 12 and Joakim Noah had 11 points and 13 rebounds. "A wins a win," Butler said. "Wins are hard to come by in this league. Every team has a roster full of NBA players; there really are no bad teams. You get a win, youre happy with that." The Bulls have won four straight and six of seven, and remained tied with the Toronto Raptors for third in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (44-32) face Washington, a possible first-round opponent, on Saturday. "I love the balance of the team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We had seven guys in double figures again. The shot distribution was pretty even, and thats important for us. "I like the balance of our team. Each night it could be someone different." Brandon Knight had 22 points before fouling out with just over two minutes left for Milwaukee. Jeff Adrien added 21 points for the Bucks, who have dropped four straight overall and 12 straight on the road to fall to 14-62 overall. Milwaukee entered the game with just eight healthy players because of injuries and coach Larry Drew decided to play just seven of those until the final 22 seconds of the game. "I thought we did a good job fighting back in the second half," Knight said. "Playing hard. Not backing down. "Theyre a great team playing great basketball right now. Theyre a very solid defensive team. Theyre physical. Theyre everything youd want in a team." The Bulls lead was 27-15 after the first quarter and 51-35 at halftime. The Bucks rallied at the start of the second half and pulled within 63-53 midway through the third quarter. But they werent able to trim the deficit to single digits and the Bulls built their advantage back up to 82-62 entering the fourth quarter. The game appeared over, but the Bulls created some suspense by managing to score just three points in the first six minutes of the period to let Milwaukee pull within 85-77. Hinrich finally broke the drought when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:59 left to make it 88-77. "You have to give them credit," Thibodeau said. "I thought they played hard throughout the game. They never went away. Even when we got up 20, they kept battling back. "I think Larrys done a good job keeping them together. Theyve been hit with a lot of things, but theyre still together." NOTES: The Bulls waived rookie Erik Murphy on Thursday and there have been multiple reports saying they are interested in signing a veteran, possibly former Bull Ronnie Brewer. Murphy had been with the team all season, but only played a total of 62 minutes in 24 games. "It was done more so for roster flexibility," Thibodeau said. "I thought he did a great job for us, and I thought he had gotten significantly better." . Bucks C Larry Sanders, currently out with an injury, was suspended for five game on Friday for violating the NBA drug policy. Sanders said in a statement released by the team that he was penalized for using marijuana. "I think the most important thing is that he learns from his mistakes," Drew said. "Hopefully, he can put them behind him, get on the right track and stay on the right track." 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Nick Spaling, Mike Fisher and Gabriel Bourque scored first-period goals to lead Nashville to a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night. Shea Weber also scored for Nashville, which has won four of five. Mikkel Boedker and Tim Kennedy scored for the Coyotes, who lost their third straight. Spaling scored the games first goal at 1:02 of the opening period. From the right side, Matt Cullens initial shot was denied by Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith. But skating through the slot, Spaling picked up the rebound and put it over Smiths right shoulder. "I think the key to our success is coming out early," Spaling said. "Were at home and we have to take advantage of playing here. Weve been on the road quite a bit lately, so its nice to be home." Craig Smith also assisted on the goal for Nashville, his ninth of the season. Fisher doubled the Nashville lead at 8:22 of the first. From below the goal line to the right of the Phoenix net, Colin Wilson found Fisher in the right circle, where he beat Smith low to the stick side. Fishers goal came just seconds after Phoenix captain Shane Doan rang a shot off the right post. "I thought the two last periods, we were all right, but we cant keep getting behind like that," Boedker said. "It seems like every time they score, we start playing, which is not what we want to do." Bourque made it 3-0 at 18:27 of the first when he converted off a nice pass from Viktor Stalberg with Nashville on a 2-on-1 break.dddddddddddd "That was a great pass," Bourque said. "We came with a lot of speed. It was a nice pass and I just had to bury it in." Phoenix made it 3-1 at 9:34 of the second when Boedker tipped Antoine Vermettes wrister from the right faceoff dot and beat Nashville goaltender Marek Mazanec between the pads. "They had a push in the second," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we were deflecting it pretty well and going pretty well until they scored the goal. They got a little momentum off of that." Kennedy got the Coyotes within a goal at 13:00 of the second when he grabbed a loose puck and beat Mazanec for his first of the season. "We just made some mistakes 1-on-1, missed coverages that ended up in the back of our net three times," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "We had to get ourselves back into the game before we got embarrassed." Weber added an empty-netter with 34.3 seconds remaining. Weber was just attempting to clear the puck from inside the Nashville zone, but his bank shot caromed perfectly off the boards and into the vacated Phoenix goal. Doan did not return to the bench for the start of the third period. The team announced that he would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury. Notes: Predators RW Patric Hornqvist missed the game with an upper-body injury sustained Saturday night. ... 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