WGN Sports: February 2012 Archives

* The Bulls have won three of their last four games against the Spurs, after winning just three of their previous 21 games against them.

* The Spurs have now won 12 of their last 13 games. Tonight's contest will be the first time the Spurs are playing at home since February 4.

* Only the Bucks (16.6) are averaging more offensive rebounds than the Bulls have averaged (15.0) since February 10.

* Since January 21, Matt Bonner (46 treys) has hit seven more three-pointers than any other Western Conference player.

* Tony Parker has put together four consecutive point-assist double-doubles for the first time in his NBA career.

* Derrick Rose set a career high by scoring 42 points the last time he faced the Spurs (February 17, 2011). The Bulls have now won each of the last seven games in which Rose has played.

* Chicago held New Orleans to just 67 points in the lone meeting between these clubs in 2011-12, winning 90-67 on the Hornets' home court on February 8. The Bulls have now won the last seven games in this series.

* After starting the season 4-23, the Hornets have won four of their last six games.

* The Bulls went a league-best 24-4 (.857) after the All-Star break last season.

* Gustavo Ayon is averaging a near double-double (10.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg) over his last six games. His 58 rebounds since February 13 are tops among all rookies.

* Joakim Noah picked up his first career triple-double (13 pts., 13 reb., 10 ast.) against the Bucks in Chicago's final game prior to the All-Star break. His previous high for assists in a game had been seven (done three times).

* Derrick Rose has never lost to the Hornets (7-0), averaging 15.7 points and 6.9 assists in these contests.

* The Bulls have won both meetings between these clubs this season, extending their overall win streak versus the Bucks to six games.

* Milwaukee has been held below 40 percent shooting in four of its last five games, going 1-4 in these contests.

* Chicago is outscoring its opponents in the paint 40.7 to 34.7 in its home contests this season.

* Ersan Ilyasova has 40 rebounds in his last two games. That is the third most in a two-game span by any Bucks player since 1986-87, and the most over that time span by any Bucks player not named Andrew Bogut.

* Joakim Noah had 16 rebounds in Monday's win over Atlanta, tying his season high. He is averaging a double-double (11.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg) so far this month.

* Derrick Rose returned to action on Monday after missing the previous five games with a back injury. Chicago is 7-3 when Rose has not played this season, compared to 19-5 when he is able to go.

* These teams split two games in January, with each winning once on its home court. The Bulls are 10-3 against the Hawks in Chicago since 2004-05.

* With a 97-77 loss at Portland on Saturday, the Hawks fell to 0-10 when scoring fewer than 89 points, as opposed to 19-2 otherwise.

* The Bulls are coming off a 97-85 loss at home to New Jersey on Saturday. But it's been over a year since Chicago dropped two games in a row (February 5 and February 7 in 2011).

* Former Bull Kirk Hinrich is Chicago's all-time leader with 812 made three-pointers. But the Hawks guard is coming off a game in which he was held scoreless in 20 minutes of action on Saturday.

* Mike James came off the bench on Saturday to tie for the Bulls' team lead with 16 points. It was the first time he's led a team in scoring since producing 16 points for the Wizards on December 17, 2008.

* Bulls guard C.J. Watson has hit 52.0 percent of his three-point attempts in the fourth quarter, tying (Alonzo Gee) for the highest rate in the league (minimum 25 TGA).

* The Bulls have beaten the Nets four straight times overall, as well as the last four times the teams met in Chicago.

* After opening the month of February with a win, New Jersey has now lost eight straight games.

* Entering this weekend, Chicago was one of just three teams (Minnesota, Phoenix) yet to play an overtime game this season.

* Kris Humphries had 24 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's loss to Indiana, his 11^th double-double of the season. He and Deron Williams (12) are one of five sets of teammates with 10+ double-doubles in 2011-12.

* In Thursday's win over the Celtics, Carlos Boozer (23 pts., 15 reb.) and Joakim Noah (15 pts., 16 reb.) became the first set of Bull teammates to have 15 points and 15 rebounds in the same game since Charles Oakley (28/15) and Dave Corzine (19/15) against the Mavericks on February 16, 1986.

* The Bulls actually had three players with a double-double on Thursday, as Luol Deng chipped in 23 points and 10 assists. Deng had a career-high 11 assists in Chicago's previous game (vs. Sacramento on Tuesday) - he had played in his first 508 career games without ever recording more than eight assists.

* While the Celtics have lost three of their last four games, their one victory during the stretch was against the Bulls on Sunday.

* The Bulls have won three consecutive home games against the Celtics, while shooting over 47 percent from the field in all three games.

* The Bulls' 121-115 victory against the Kings Tuesday night represented the most points scored and allowed by the Bulls this season.

* After averaging just 8.7 points per game over his first 27 games this season, Joakim Noah has averaged 18.3 points (on 66.7 percent shooting from the field) over his last three games.

* After hitting at least one three-pointer in 23 consecutive games, Ray Allen has hit just one trey over his last three games.

* For the first time in his NBA career, Rajon Rondo has scored more than 30 points in back-to-back games.

* The Bulls have won each of their last three games against the Kings by double digits. Over the last two meetings, Chicago has averaged 120.0 points on 57.5 percent shooting from the field and 62.1 percent shooting from three-point range.

* Since the beginning of last season, the Bulls have won 16 of 17 home games against Western Conference competition.

* The Kings have had fewer blocks than their opponents in nine straight games, which is not only the longest active streak, but the longest streak in the NBA this season.

* On the Bulls' just-completed nine-game road trip, Carlos Boozer shot 88.2 percent (15/17) from the field in the fourth quarter. 

* Marcus Thornton has averaged 22.3 points per game in his last four meetings with the Bulls, scoring at least 20 in each contest.

* In five games as a starter substituting for Derrick Rose this season, C.J. Watson is averaging 15.6 points, 6.4 assists and 2.0 steals on 50 percent shooting from three-point range.

* The Blackhawks have scored at least one special-teams goal in six consecutive road games against the Avalanche.

* The Blackhawks have allowed a power-play goal in six consecutive games in which their opponents have had at least one power-play opportunity. They also have allowed at least three goals in five consecutive games for the first time this season.

* The Avalanche have scored less than three goals in each game during their 5-game losing streak (0-4-1).

* Only the Devils (60.6) have a higher shootout percentage than the Avalanche (52.2 percent - 12/23) this season.

* Jean-Sebastien Giguere has displayed a 1.22 GAA over his last seven games against the Blackhawks.

* Marian Hossa has scored 11 goals over his last 13 games against the Avalanche.

* With a 110-95 victory on January 23, the Bulls have won their last three games versus New Jersey. Chicago has not won four consecutive games in the series since a seven-game spree between 1997 and 1999.

* The Bulls have won their last 33 games when leading after the first period. No other team currently sports an active streak longer than five such games (Bucks, 76ers).

* The Nets have fashioned a higher three-point percentage than their opponent in each of their past seven games, the longest active streak in the league.

* Derrick Rose has combined at least 25 points and 10 assists in each of his past two games. He's the only player in the league with four such games in 2011-12.

* While Kyle Korver has connected on just nine of 35 (.257) three-point attempts at home, he leads the league with 37 field goals from beyond the arc on the road (52.1 percent).

* Deron Williams' 21-point, 11-assist effort on Saturday represented his fifth 20-10 game of the season, exceeding the output by all Nets combined (four) in 2010-11.

* Chicago is 12-3-0 against the Flames since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, although they have lost three straight road games against the Flames.
* Marian Hossa has recorded seven points (3g, 4a) in his last four games against the Flames.
* The Blackhawks have won 12 games this season after allowing the first goal of the game, tied for the third most in the league.
* Jarome Iginla needs two more goals to reach the 20-goal plateau for the 13^th consecutive season. His 12-season streak is currently tied for the second-longest active streak in the league and the longest in franchise history.
* The Flames have lost three straight home games after winning 10 of their previous 11 home games. They have been outscored 8-2 during their current three-game home losing streak.
* Miikka Kiprusoff is 1-2-0 with a 3.59 GAA and .877 save percentage in his last four starts against the Blackhawks.

* The Bulls and Knicks have split their last six meetings.

* Chicago is 8-2 playing on no rest this season, and has won its last six such contests.

* The Knicks shot 60.0 percent in their 113-86 win over the Pistons on Tuesday. It was the first time the Knicks shot at least 60 percent in a game in more than eight years (60.0% vs. Magic, January 14, 2004).

* Derrick Rose has had 34+ points in three of his last four contests, averaging 30.3 points per game over this stretch.

* Joakim Noah had just two points and seven rebounds in Chicago's loss to the 76ers on Wednesday, snapping his streak of five straight double-doubles.

* Carmelo Anthony is averaging 25.3 points per game in his career versus the Bulls. He has scored 20+ points in each of the last five meetings.

* The Sixers have won each of their last two games against the Bulls after losing five of the previous six meetings between the clubs.

* After opening the season 16-3, the Bulls have now split their last four contests. Four of Chicago's five losses this season have come on the road.

* Philadelphia has held its opponents to just 71.7 points per game during its current three-game win streak. The 76ers boast the best scoring defense in the NBA this season (86.1 ppg all.).

* Derrick Rose has scored at least 34 points in each of his last three games and led all scorers with 31 points in the last meeting between these teams on March 28, 2011.

* The 76ers leading scorer, Louis Williams, was held under 10 points for just the third time this season against the Magic on Monday.

* The 76ers boast the highest bench scoring in the Eastern Conference this season at 42.3 points per game.