PHILADELPHIA—The Bulls had enough healthy players to outlast the lowly 76ers.Aaron Brooks scored seven of his season-high 31 points in overtime to help short-handed Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-95 on Wednesday night.

”We got it done without our guys and it felt good,” Brooks said. ”This team is resilient. It’s going to make us better in the long run.”

Pau Gasol had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Nikola Mirotic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls. They snapped a three-game skid without four regulars and three of their top five scorers.The Bulls dressed only 10 players and were without Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah. That’s nearly 57 points out of their lineup. Rose had knee surgery Feb. 27, but said Monday that he hopes to return this season, targeting 4-to-6 weeks for a comeback from yet another knee injury. Butler (elbow) missed his sixth straight game, and Gibson (ankle) sat out his seventh in a row. Noah (knee) was a late scratch. It was also the fifth game in seven days for thge Bulls.

”It’s a valuable win for us,” Gasol said. ”A lot of handicaps but we got it done. That gives us confidence.”

Ish Smith led Philadelphia with a career-high 23 points, Isaiah Canaan added 20 and Robert Covington had 12. The 76ers have lost 10 of 12 overall and 10 of 11 against the Bulls.Brooks had 13 points entering the fourth quarter but got hot in the final 12 minutes of regulation and continued it in the extra session. His layup to start overtime broke a 92-all tie he hit a 3-pointer to make it 103-94 with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in overtime.

”We had a lot of guys step up and we needed everyone,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”We have a lot of guys out. Just find a way to scratch out wins, hold the fort until we can get some guys back and we go from there. You’d like to have everyone out there so you’re building your rhythm. But it’s not the case for us, hasn’t been the case all year. So, whoever we have, let’s go.”

The Bulls looked in command up 74-63 after E’Twaun Moore’s layup to open the fourth quarter. But the 76ers surged in front with a 17-5 run. It remained close from that point, and Smith put Philadelphia ahead with a pair of free throws with 56.8 seconds left. After a miss, Jerami Grant made two free throws with 43 seconds left to give the 76ers a 92-89 lead. Brooks tied it with a 3-pointer from the wing with 33.2 seconds left.Canaan missed a layup with 25 seconds left, but Tony Snell turned it over on the Bulls’ possession. Luc Mbah a Moute’s 16-footer that would’ve won it went off the rim.

”I would back him shooting that midrange shot to win a game 10 times outs of 10,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.

Philadelphia missed its first 12 shots of the second half and went 7:39 without a point. The Bulls only scored nine points over that stretch though and led 60-51 before Covington’s layup finally ended the 76ers’ drought with 4:21 left in the quarter.

NOTES—Mike Dunleavy hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 72-63 advantage entering the fourth…Dunleavy scored a season-high 27 points in the Bulls’ 118-115 win over the 76ers in Philadelphia on Nov. 7. … The Bulls last three losses all came by 10 or more points. … Gasol had his 44th double-double…..76ers: Nerlens Noel and Thomas Robinson had 15 rebounds apiece. The 76ers tied a franchise-high tying 41 3-point attempts, finishing 11-for-41. Philadelphia shot 48 percent (12-for-25) from the free-throw line….The Bulls are at Charlotte on Friday night.

NEW YORK—Creighton has struggled in close games all season, so the Bluejays put this one away before it came down to the wire.James Milliken scored 22 points and Creighton took charge of a tight contest in the second half for a 78-63 victory over DePaul in the first round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday night.

”I thought defensively we had a little more teeth the second half,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said.

Devin Brooks added 12 points and senior guard Austin Chatman had 11, surpassing 1,000 for his career. Will Artino provided energy down low, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds to help the 10th-seeded Bluejays (14-18) advance to the quarterfinals Thursday night against No. 23 Georgetown, the tournament’s second seed.Creighton snapped a three-game skid that included a pair of one-point losses and a four-point defeat against No. 4 Villanova. That was a common theme for the Bluejays, who lost seven Big East matchups after being ahead or tied in the final minute of regulation.

”This is their time,” McDermott said. ”It’s time to do something for themselves.”

Jamee Crockett scored 15 to pace seventh-seeded DePaul (12-20), which lost its final eight games of the season and 11 of the last 12. It was an extremely disappointing finish for a team that opened 3-0 and 5-2 in conference play, including a Jan. 7 win at Creighton.Billy Garrett Jr. had 10 points and eight assists for the Blue Demons.

”They’re down in the locker room, which I would expect them to be,” coach Oliver Purnell said. ”I know why I want to come back – because I want to continue to rebuild this program. We’ve made some progress. But at the same time, I’m just like fans; I’m not satisfied. So I want to come back to finish the job. That’s the way I feel about it.”

The score was tied at 46 before Artino’s putback with 12:45 left started Creighton’s decisive 13-2 surge. Toby Hegner hit a 3-pointer and Milliken shook off a hard fall to finish a three-point play that gave the Bluejays a 10-point cushion with 8:21 to go.Meanwhile, the Blue Demons managed only one field goal in a span of 7:10.

”I thought we were in a good position, but we couldn’t sustain it,” Purnell said. ”We took a couple poor shots in the second half. I thought that deflated us defensively a little bit.”

Creighton shot 54.2 percent (13 for 24) after halftime and committed only five turnovers in all.The Bluejays led most of the way in a first half that was pretty even on the stat sheet, as both teams shot 12 for 28 (42.9 percent) from the field.Milliken scored 15 points, including three straight 3s, and Creighton went into the locker room with a 35-33 lead after Chatman dished to Geoffrey Groselle underneath for a layup with a second left.Brooks, playing near his Harlem home, and Chatman both had five assists, five rebounds and no turnovers. … The teams split two regular-season matchups, each winning on the road by double digits.The Blue Demons have two Big East tournament wins, including 60-56 last year over Georgetown in the first round. … Tommy Hamilton IV, who sat out the regular-season finale at Marquette because he wasn’t feeling well, came off the bench with 15:08 remaining in the first half and quickly hit his first two shots, a 3-pointer from the right corner and a layup while getting fouled. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. … Myke Henry had 10 points and nine rebounds.Creighton was the tournament runner-up last year in its first Big East season, beating DePaul 84-62 in the quarterfinals. Scores of vocal fans made the long trip from Nebraska and filled Garden seats to see national player of the year Doug McDermott and a ranked Bluejays squad that was headed for a high seed in the NCAAs.The atmosphere was hardly the same Wednesday, with a scattered crowd of 12,588 attending the first-round doubleheader.

UIC parted ways with men’s basketball coach Howard Moore on Tuesday. Howard compiled a 49-111 record in five seasons.

“I would like to thank the UIC [administration] for giving us the opportunity to coach in the greatest city in the world,” Howard tweeted.

Athletic director Jim Schmidt said the decision was related to the team’s lack of success.

“I want to thank Howard Moore for his five years of commitment to UIC athletics,” Schmidt said. “We have high expectations and aspire to be at the top of the Horizon League and we have not met our competitive goals. We have dedicated and talented student-athletes in the basketball program who are committed and make us optimistic for the future. I wish Howard the very best of luck going forward.”

The Flames (10-24, 4-12) will immediately begin a national search for their next coach.

VALPARAISO—Going back to the NCAA Tournament, Valparaiso won the Horizon League with a 23-5 run in the final 11:30 to erase UW-Green Bay’s eight-point lead and win 54-44.Valpo has been one of the few opponents that two-time conference player of the year Keifer Sykes has not been able to dominate. Sykes finished with a team-high 14 points but shot the ball well below his normal percentage and has been held to a combined 11 for 45 from the field in all three matchups this season.The Crusaders retook the lead with a patented all-around effort from their deep rotation, but David Skara (team-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting off the bench) was the star for stepping up big moments while the regular season champs stormed back and took the lead.When the Phoenix fell behind, they turned to the 3-pointer to try and cut the deficit. The Phoenix are not a great 3-point shooting team, and it showed with a 2-for-15 showing. As Green Bay missed shots on one end, Valpo extended the lead by hitting free throws at the other (13 for 17 for the game). Riding a wave of momentum powered by the home crowd, Valpo closed out the win for its second NCAA tournament bid in three years.

During halftime, Memphis Grizzlies coaches showed tape that revealed Marc Gasol was repeatedly open near the foul line. To take advantage, all they needed was to get him the ball and for him to shoot.Gasol did and it helped the Grizzlies beat brother Pau Gasol and the Bulls 101-91 on Monday night.Marc Gasol scored 15 of his 23 points during the third quarter, and was 10 of 16 from the field and Memphis moved to two games ahead of idle Houston for the Southwest Division lead.The Grizzlies padded their lead thanks in part to the younger Gasol brother, who had only four points after intermission.

”My teammates found me at the elbows and in the post, and I was able to make some shots,” Marc Gasol said. ”That makes their bigs come out and pick up their coverage a bit more. You get confidence. You get in a rhythm.”

Jeff Green had 19 and Zach Randolph added 16 for the Grizzlies, who held the Bulls to 43.8 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers. It was a needed win for Memphis, which had been 3-4 in its last seven games and averaged just 91.4 points over that span but improved to 21-11 on the road.

”We have a good group of guys. We all feel like we have a chance to do something special this year,” Memphis coach David Joerger said.”You try to take care of your body, whether that be nutrition or sleep or staying in at night.”

Pau Gasol, Marc’s older brother, had 13 points and 11 rebounds for his 43rd double-double to match the career high he set during the 2010-11 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Off the bench, Nikola Mirotic had 18 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double.Unfortunately for the Bulls, that couldn’t help them avoid their third consecutive loss, matching a season-high three-game skid.Memphis stretched its lead to as many as 11 and entered the fourth with a 73-65 lead. The Bulls then tied the game at 82 with 7:10 left when Tony Snell (21 points) stole an errant pass for a breakaway dunk.The Bulls led by as much as four in the fourth but Memphis regained the lead, going up 95-88 with 2:04 left when the Bulls were called for a technical for having six players on the court.Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau blamed himself for the play, but found no fault with the effort from his short-handed team which was playing for the fourth time in five days.

”I thought the fight was strong. We’re shorthanded. Fourth game in five nights, bouncing all over the place,” Thibodeau said. ”We came up short but I thought they played with great effort.”

The Bulls were without former MVP Derrick Rose, All-Star Jimmy Butler (left elbow) and Taj Gibson (left ankle).Meeting with the media for the first time since undergoing surgery Feb. 27 to repair the torn cartilage in his right knee, Rose said his return this season is ”the plan, so whenever I feel right, that’s when I’m going to step back.”

In the meantime, the Bulls will have to stay competitive without him and the two other key pieces. That didn’t happen Monday, as the Bulls lost ground on idle Cleveland in the Central Division race. With the loss, the Bulls fell a full game behind the Cavaliers (40-25) for the lead and saw how narrow their margin of error has become.

”We’re battling,” Pau Gasol said. ”That’s what needs to continue to happen.”

NOTES—Tom Thibodeau said Gibson is day-to-day. Gibson hasn’t played since Feb. 27, and was averaging 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. … Noah had six assists to surpass Rose (231) for the team lead. … The Bulls wore green uniforms with sleeved jerseys in observance of St. Patrick’s Day…..Pau and Marc Gasol have played against each other plenty of times before, but it still means something for the All-Star brothers to go head-to-head. ”It is an honor honestly,” Marc said. Pau added that the Gasols are a ”very fortunate family” and that it’s a ”huge privilege” to face Marc. The brothers had lunch near the Memphis team hotel Monday…..The game paired the two active coaches with the best records in their first 100 starts. Thibodeau had a 77-23 record, while Joerger owned a 65-35 mark…..Bulls open their three game road trip at Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Derick Brassard snapped out of a goal drought when it really mattered.Brassard connected 32 seconds into overtime to end a 14-game streak without a goal and Cam Talbot made 29 saves for his fifth shutout of the season in the New York Rangers’ 1-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday night.Brassard swooped in from left wing and fired a shot past Corey Crawford on the stick side after taking a cross-ice feed from Mats Zuccarello. That moved the Rangers within a point of the first-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.Brassard had 13 assists since his last goal, on Feb. 4 against Boston, but he said beating Crawford just inside the left post, was sweet – and went according to plan. ”There’s no way there I could score on the glove side, so I just tried to go short side and it worked,” Brassard said. ”It felt pretty good. I hadn’t scored in decades. I’m just happy we came here and won the game. We know they’re a power team in the West.” Talbot was sharp in his 15th start in 16 games since No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been sidelined with a neck injury. Talbot has eight career shutouts and, on Sunday, backstopped the Rangers first blanking of the Blackhawks since Jan. 25, 1969, when Ed Giacomin was in nets. ”I didn’t know that until right now,” Talbot said. ”That says a lot about how we played tonight, coming into a tough building against one of the best teams, and really doing a good job in our zone, shutting them down, not giving them the second and third opportunities that they thrive on.” Crawford finished with 35 saves after stopping a career-high 46 shots Friday night in a 2-1 shootout win over Edmonton. ”(Crawford) made some key saves at the end,” Joel Quenneville said. ”We’ve had some success over the year in the overtime, not tonight.I thought, as far as the chances go, both ways it was a pretty even game. But (Brassard’s goal) was the game.” The Hawks dropped to 12-6 in games decided in overtime, while New York improved to 8-7. In earning a point, the Blackhawks closed to within five of first-place Nashville and within three of second-place St. Louis in the Central Division.While Lundqvist has been out with the vascular injury – a condition that resulted from being hit with a shot Jan. 31 – New York has gone 11-2-3 to challenge for first place in the Metropolitan and Eastern Conference.The Hawks failed to convert any of four power plays, while New York couldn’t connect on its two.The Blackhawks fell to 3-2 without injured leading scorer Patrick Kane.The Blackhawks had the only two power plays in the up-tempo first, but the Rangers dominated and outshot the Blackhawks 16-8 in the period. Crawford had to make several tough saves, including a point-blank stop on James Sheppard’s stuff-in attempt, when he cut into the crease from the side of the net.The Blackhawks picked up their pace in the second. The Hawks fired eight shots at Talbot, while not allowing any in the opening 10 minutes of the frame.New York pushed back later in the period. Crawford snuffed a prime chance by Martin St. Louis, when he skated across the crease alone, with 5:35 left. Talbot then stopped Joakim Nordstrom with about 3 minutes left from a scrum at the side of the net.The teams tightened up play for much of the third, waiting to capitalize on a mistake that might decide it. Both goalies compensated for any errors.Crawford made a close-in stick save on Jesper Fast just under 3 minutes into the third following a Hawk turnover. Talbott stopped slumping Patrick Sharp’s rebound attempt at 6:05. Sharp has gone 18 games without a goal and has only two assists in his last 17.Crawford made three tough saves about 15 seconds apart with just over 7 minutes left. He dove to stop Chris Kreider, who was in alone, then denied St. Louis’s initial shot from the slot and Derek Stepan on a rebound.The Hawks killed off a late New York power play in the third to send it to overtime. NOTES—Slumping Blackhawks LW Bryan Bickell sat out his first game this season as a healthy scratch. In his last 12 games, Bickell has just one goal, his only point in the stretch. … Lundqvist has resumed skating and has been able to face low shots in practice, but his return date isn’t yet known. … A scoreboard video presentation of Blackhawks D Duncan Keith helping 5-year-old fan Cammy Babiarz skate and score a goal at the team’s practice facility drew an ovation from fans and a stick-slap salute from the Rangers players. Babiarz, who suffers from Rett Syndrome and is unable to walk or speak, was at Sunday’s game in a Blackhawks jersey. Cheers from the crowd of 22,160 peaked when arena cameras panned in on her.

SAN ANTONIO—Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his team’s goal the remainder of the season is simple – just win.Tony Parker playing well makes that a lot easier.Parker had a season-high 32 points and just one turnover in leading San Antonio Spurs to their fifth straight victory, 116-105 over the Bulls on Sunday.

”Tony is playing at a high level again, that makes a big difference for them,” Pau Gasol said. ”It’s tough to beat them that way.”

Parker is returning to his All-Star form after being hindered much of the season by a strained hamstring that forced him to miss 13 games. He is again driving hard to the lane for his usual array of spins, layups, floaters and quick passes to teammates for corner 3-pointers.Parker, averaging 25 points in his past three games, shot 13 for 19 and had two assists in 30 minutes.Tim Duncan failed to make a basket for the first time in his career, going 0 for 8 while finishing with just three points. But his struggles were lessened by balanced scoring fueled by a strong defensive effort.Kawhi Leonard added 20 points, Patty Mills had 15 and Manu Ginobili 14 for the Spurs.The Bulls had 22 turnovers, which resulted in 32 points for San Antonio. The Spurs had 15 steals, including three each by Leonard and Ginobili.

”They are very active with their hands and they got a lot of steals,” Joakim Noah said. ”They got them into the open floor and we had no answer for that.”

Parker stole a soft pass from Nazr Mohammed to E’Twaun Moore near midcourt and sprinted down court for an uncontested layup.Leonard later raced down court for a one-handed dunk on Moore and Noah after stripping Mike Dunleavy as he drove the lane for a 91-77 lead with 11 minutes remaining .Pau Gasol had 23 points and Aaron Brooks added 22 to lead the Bulls.Kirk Hinrich’s 3-pointer pulled the Bulls to 93-85, but the Spurs then made three straight 3-pointers midway through the final quarter to pull away.Already without All-Star point guard Derrick Rose, the Bulls were missing Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson.

”I was worried if we were going to have the ability to score enough and I think we can score enough,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”The big thing is taking care of the ball and making sure we get back defensively.”

Gasol, who leads the NBA in double-doubles, recorded his 42nd early in the second half Sunday. … Nikola Mirotic was averaging 22 points in his previous four games and had 19 on 5-for-10 shooting against the Spurs. … Butler (left elbow sprain) and Gibson (left ankle) both sat out.

NOTES—Duncan failed to score a basket for the first time in 1,310 career games. Popovich was jokingly asked if he would talk to Duncan so it didn’t happen again…..”I don’t talk to Timmy too much anymore,” Popovich said. ”So, if you want to tell him, go ahead. Say, `What the hell was that all about? What are you doing?”’…..The Bulls are in the midst of playing four games in five nights. They lost to Indiana on Friday to split a back-to-back against the Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder and will host Memphis on Monday night….Injuries to Rose, Butler and Gibson makes the schedule even tougher…..”It gives you a good measure of what you’re going to need to do,” Thibodeau said. ”You take something from every one of these games. This is the group we have and we have to figure out how to win with this group. I think we can.”…..The Bulls are home to Memphis on Monday.

ST. LOUIS—The Missouri Valley player of the year looked the part when it counted. His Northern Iowa teammates stepped up, too, when the game looked hopeless.Seth Tuttle had 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists, leading the 11th-ranked Panthers back from an 18-point first-half deficit to beat Illinois State 69-60 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game on Sunday.The Panthers (30-3) took control with a 25-4 run that erased a 36-22 halftime deficit. Jeremy Morgan had three 3-pointers in the run and Tuttle, the Valley player of the year and tournament MVP, added eight points, often getting loose from constant double-teaming.

”He really exerted his will,” Illinois State coach Dan Muller said. ”When were in zone, they got it in to Tuttle, when we went man, they got it in to Tuttle.”

Daishon Knight had 16 points for fourth-seeded Illinois State (21-12), which needed a win to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. Knight had 25 points in the Redbirds’ semifinal upset of top seed Wichita State.Northern Iowa won the title for the third time in seven years and has won 19 of 20 games.

”That was different than just about every game I’ve been a part of,” coach Ben Jacobson said. ”We had more than our hands full at halftime.”

The winners shot 23 percent in the first half and 54 percent the rest of the way, and held Illinois State to 33 percent in the second half.Deontae Hawkins added 14 points with four 3-pointers for ISU, which did much of the scoring on transition in the first half but couldn’t capitalize on early chances in the second.

”We missed three layups in the first 4 minutes,” Muller said. ”If we make those, we keep the lead even though they’re scoring.”

Illinois State made eight of its first 12 shots, four of them 3-pointers, and led 33-15 with 2:44 to go in the half. Reserve Justin McCloud made all three of his 3-point attempts. The 18-point bulge was four points more than Northern Iowa’s largest margin of defeat in a loss at Wichita State that decided the Valley title in the regular season finale.Northern Iowa began the game just 5 for 27 from the field, three of the shots swatted back by Reggie Lynch.

NOTES—McCloud totaled nine points in the first two tournament games and reached double figures in one of the previous 17 games. … Muller played for the Redbirds’ last tourney title team….ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Buss also made the all-tournament team for Northern Iowa along Knight and Lynch from Illinois State and Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet.

E’Twaun Moore finished off Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.Moore hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left and the Bulls rallied to beat the Thunder 108-105 on Thursday night, ending Westbrook’s triple-double streak at four.After Moore’s 3 put the Bulls up 107-105, Westbrook stepped out of bounds after taking the inbounds pass, not seeing that Serge Ibaka was open for a potential tying shot.

”Just trying to get a good shot. I should have passed to Serge,” Westbrook said. ”That was a bad decision on my part. He was open and I should have hit him.”

Westbrook had 43 points on 14-of-32 shooting and added seven assists and eight rebounds. On Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, he had career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds and added 10 assists in an overtime victory over Philadelphia.Westbrook was the first player to have four straight triple-doubles since Michael Jordan had seven in a row in 1989. The All-Star MVP scored at least 40 points for the third straight game. Westbrook wore a mask and a headband for the second straight game after fracturing a bone in his right cheek Friday night in Portland. He had surgery Saturday and sat out Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.Ibaka had 25 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City.

”He’s not happy that he scored a bunch of points and got a bunch of rebounds and assists and we lost the game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ”Russell is about winning and about winning only.”

Westbrook scored 19 points in the third quarter to help the Thunder take a 79-72 lead into the fourth. He split two free throws with 1:07 to play, and Enes Kanter rebounded the miss and scored to give Oklahoma City a 103-99 lead.Mirotic made a 3-pointer, and Westbrook hit a jumper with 37.1 seconds left. Mirotic made two free throws with 28.9 to go, pulling the Bulls within one. Westbrook then had an air-ball with the shot-clock expiring, and Moore followed with his 3-pointer that gave the Bulls the lead.

”The way E’Twaun competed on every play, that goes a long way,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said about Moore, one of numerous Bulls who guarded Westbrook. ”I thought we had a number of guys step up.”

Moore got the chance to hit the 3 after Pau Gasol got the ball and the defense collapsed on him in the post. Instead of forcing a shot, Gasol read the play and sent it back out to Moore for the winner.

”I was aware of the time management,” Moore said. ”I knew we only had four seconds (when the play started) and if he kicked it out, I knew there’s not much time left. I just shot it with confidence.”

Mirotic finished with 26 points, Gasol had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy also had 21 points, and Moore added a career-high 19. Joakim Noah had 12 rebounds, putting him over 5,000 for his career.Playing without former MVP Derrick Rose (right knee) and All-Star Jimmy Butler (left elbow), The Bulls ended their season-high seven-game homestand 5-2, winning a game that clearly meant a lot to the Bulls.

”It was great,” a beaming Noah said. ”That felt so good. It felt really good.”

Despite another star performance for Westbrook it didn’t end as well for Oklahoma City after it led by 16 in the first half.

NOTES—TNT reporter,and Northwestern Alum Craig Sager returned to the sideline for the first time in 11 months after a bout with leukemia. ”I’m 60 yards shorter off the tee, but I feel good,” Sager said upon his arrival at the United Center. Known for his outlandish outfits, Sager wore a red, black and gray plaid jacket and matching Nike shoes that sparkled in the dark for the occasion. ”Bulls colors,” explained Sager, a Northwestern graduate. Sager was honored during a stoppage with 5:56 left in the first and was given a plaid red-and-black jacket by mascot Benny the Bull…..Westbrook sounded flattered that his triple-double streak brought up Jordan’s name. ”That’s definitely an honor, man. I’m nowhere close to the things that Michael accomplished,” Westbrook said. ”He’s the greatest player to play the game.”….Thibodeau said Rose has been doing some ”form shooting” and is in the early stages of his rehab from a torn meniscus in his right knee. ”It’ll probably step up a little bit next week,” Thibodeau said. … Kirk Hinrich played his 697th game with the Bulls, passing Jerry Sloan for third in franchise history…..Dunleavy had one of the less flattering moments of his career when he missed a dunk with 1:49 left in the first half. But as usual, Dunleavy took the miscue in stride. ”I was just trying to reset the shot clock,” Dunleavy quipped. ”I think I got that accomplished.”…..The Bulls play at Indiana on Friday.

ST. LOUIS—Deion Lavender scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds to help lead ninth-seeded Southern Illinois past eighth-seeded Missouri state 55-48 in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Thursday night.Anthony Beane and Sean O’Brien each added 10 points for the Salukis (12-20), who will play top-seed Wichita State on Friday. Thursday was the fifth time in six years SIU has played in an opening round ”play-in game.” They are 3-4 overall in the first round.After Missouri State’s Dorrian Williams hit two free throw to cut the Southern Illinois lead to 45-43 with 3:20 to play, the Salukis scored the next five, highlighted by and O’Brien 3-pointer, to push the back to seven and put the game away.Justin Ruder scored 17 to lead the Bears (11-20), who shot just 35 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.
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Tramique Sutherland hit two free throws with two seconds left in overtime Thursday and 10th-seeded Bradley beat seventh-seeded Drake 52-50 to advance to a second-round matchup against No. 2-ranked UNI (16-2) Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.Auston Barnes scored 13 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:11 left in overtime that gave Bradley (9-23) a 50-47 lead.Drake’s Trevor Berkeley tied it at 50 with a free throw, then Gary Ricks Jr. fouled Sutherland on the next possession.Nate Wells added 10 for the Braves, who led 21-17 at halftime. Warren Jones hit a 3-pointer with 1:32 left in regulation to tie it at 43 and send the game into overtime.Jacob Enevold Jensen scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and made all 14 of his free throw attempts for Drake (9-22). Ricks added 10 points and Karl Madison had six assists.