Jimmy Butler has already won the NBA's Most Improved Player, but it's obvious he hasn't stopped getting better.
The fourth-year veteran was the ringleader in the Bulls' plot to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season. It fell short, though, as the Warriors won 106-94, but Butler showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with this season and beyond.
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Butler's stats against the Warriors: 28 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals. But the stats tell just part of the story.
Butler spent most of the night guarding Stephen Curry, which is a job in itself. He also facilitated the Bulls offense for a large part of the night, as Chicago showed up without Derrick Rose for the second straight game.
But if anything, Friday night just showed how much Butler has taken over the reins as the Bulls on-court leader. It's clear now that the Bulls' best bet to contend for a championship is to follow Butler's lead on both ends of the court.
Tweet of the Night
Father Time wasn't kind to Kobe Bryant on Friday night. Bryant struggled to score 10 points as the Lakers fell.
Watching Kobe play is not so fun right now: https://t.co/8a2NrsAHQY
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) November 21, 2015Stud of the Night
With so many great point guards in the league right now, Brandon Knight sometimes gets overlooked. Friday night was another stellar night for Knight, as he put up 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Suns' 114-107 win over the Nuggets.
Dud of the Night
There are some nights Tim Duncan doesn't play like a 39-year-old. Friday night wasn't one of them. Duncan had just six points and no rebounds as the Spurs fell 104-90 to the Pelicans.
1,343 career games for Duncan and tonight was the first time he doesn't record a rebound #Spurs #Pelicans pic.twitter.com/6Kjtp2R0Xu
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) November 21, 2015Looking Ahead
Hawks (9-5) at Cavs (9-3) 7:30 p.m. (ET): This game is not only a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals (won by Cleveland 4-0), it's one where both teams are trying to regain the momentum they had early this season. The Cavs have lost two of their past four games while the Hawks have dropped four of their past six.