Thibodeau after blowout: 'I loved the balance'

By Fred Mitchell

Tom Thibodeau searched his memory to come up with a few negatives after his Chicago Bulls' 40-point blowout of the Sacramento Kings Monday night.

With a straight face, the Bulls coach criticized his team's rebounding efforts in the first half. He questioned occasional defensive lapses. But Thibodeau could not resist noticing the team's balanced offensive attack that saw eight players scoring in double figures.

"I loved the balance," he said as a slight smile creased his face. "We were inside-out ... the ball's moving, sharing the ball, making the extra pass. The start of the game was not what we wanted. Everything else, as the game went on, we got better and better. But you've got to be concerned with measuring a game. You have to come out and you have to put a lot into it right from the start."

PHOTOS: Bulls beat Kings 132-92

Photo: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau during the second half on Monday. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Tribune)
The Bulls shot 65 percent from the field by halftime and wound up at 61.3 percent. Kyle Korver (18), Omer Asik (14), C.J. Watson (11) keyed a bench attack that left the Kings gasping.

"Kyle was on fire at the end of the game, and C.J. was too," said Carlos Boozer, who made his return from an ankle injury by scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in a 25:34 of playing time. "It was fun to see our second unit come in and kick butt." Korver connected on 7 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 three-pointers.

"We have a few guys playing a lot of minutes, so it was good to get a nice little lead and let them sit a little bit. Especially with the back-to-back (at Atlanta Tuesday night)," said Korver.

The Bulls' pesky defense helped force 22 Kings turnovers, leading to many easy baskets.

"It's fun to watch everybody play," said Boozer. "I just saw one of the best shooting exhibitions by Kyle. Watching C.J. get hot and the tempo picked up like he always does. ... Ronnie (Brewer) coming in being a thief on defense. Big O (Asik) dunking everything like a monster. ... Taj (Gibson) went out there and was aggressive on defense. We call our bench the second wave. And we got a monster second wave."

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/03/thibodeau-after-40-point-win-i-loved-the-balance.html

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