Morning Box Score: Bulls Finish With NBA's Best Record, Humber Rocked Post-Perfecto
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 27, 2012 3:40PM
Would anyone have believed the Bulls would finish with the NBA's best record with Derrick Rose missing 27 of 66 games due to injury? The answer, obviously, is no. But that's where they sit, tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the league's best record with 50 wins. The Bulls, based on their 96-89 win over the Spurs last month, will have home court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs, should they make it that far. Rose, Luol Deng and Kyle Korver all sat out last night's regular season finale as coach Tom Thibodeau emptied the bench all the way down to human victory cigar Brian Scalabrine. The Bench Mob didn't disappoint. John Lucas III led six Bulls in double figures with a game-high 25 points, while Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earned double doubles as the Bulls made easy work of the Cavaliers. The Bulls now face Philadelphia in the first round of the NBA playoffs tomorrow at noon. (Benjy will have a preview of the series later.)
Philip Humber had a rude return to earth in his first start since Saturday's perfect game in Seattle. Humber walked Red Sox leadoff hitter Mike Aviles on a 3-2 pitch to start the game en route to giving up nine runs in five innings of work. Kevin Youkilis tagged Humber for a third-inning grand slam and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered twice off of Humber. Sometimes a pitcher has to take one for the team and that's what happened to Humber last night. Dayan Viciedo broke out of a slight slump with a home run for the White Sox.