GameDay: Chicago Bulls at Dallas Mavericks
Bulls at Mavericks
7 p.m. Friday, American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: ESPN/FSSW
Radio: ESPN/103.3 FM, ESPN/1540 AM (Spanish)
Records: Bulls 28-16; Mavericks 30-13
About the Bulls: The Bulls have had so many negative issues lately that coach Tom Thibodeau canceled Tuesday’s practice and instead had a team meeting. ... After Monday’s 108-94 loss to Cleveland, guard Derrick Rose said: “It seems like we’re not even competing and it’s [expletive deleted] irritating.” ... The Bulls have lost six of their past nine games. ... In the wild 132-129 double-overtime home loss to the Mavs on Dec. 2, Pau Gasol (29 points, 14 rebounds), Jimmy Butler (23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Mike Dunleavy (20 points) and Rose (18 points, 10 assists) all had productive games.
About the Mavericks: Winners of 10 of their past 13 games, the Mavs have moved into the No. 4 seed out West. ... Coach Rick Carlisle (599-412) will be going for his 600th career win. ... The Mavs are a disappointing 14-6 at home. ... Monta Ellis (38 points), Chandler Parsons (24 points, seven rebounds), Dirk Nowitzki (22 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists) and Devin Harris (20 points, 6 of 6 from 3-point range) were all on top of their game during the 132-129 double-overtime victory in Chicago on Dec. 2. Ellis made three free throws with 1.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime. — Dwain Price
This story was originally published January 22, 2015 at 8:45 PM with the headline "GameDay: Chicago Bulls at Dallas Mavericks."