By Cody Westerlund\u2013
CHICAGO (CBS) \u2014 Prior to Saturday night\u2019s game, Raptors coach Dwane Casey, unprompted, called Bulls wing Jimmy Butler \u201celite.\u201d Afterward, the superlatives reached even loftier heights.
Scoring 32 of his 42 points after halftime, Butler willed the Bulls to their third straight victory and second consecutive against a top-notch Eastern Conference team, as Chicago rallied from a 19-point deficit for a 123-118 win in overtime against the Toronto Raptors (24-12) at the United Center. It was Butler\u2019s third game third 40-point game in the past six contests, and it left coach Fred Hoiberg using a modifier in front of the usual \u201cstar\u201d description.
\u201cYou can put Jimmy up with the superstars in this league and put him in that category,\u201d Hoiberg said. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about that.\u201d
In a season in which the Bulls (19-18) have hovered around .500, failed to string together consistent play and been met with questions about their future direction, Butler\u2019s rise has been the feel-good storyline. He\u2019s been on a rampage lately, averaging 34.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists on 46.5 percent shooting in the past six games. For the season, he\u2019s averaging career highs of 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Butler is fond of attributing his success to his hard work, a point backcourt mate Dwyane Wade backed up when he credited Butler for going to the gym to work on his game nearly every evening, whether the Bulls already had a practice earlier in the day or whether it was an off day. For his part, Wade is also fond of pointing out that it\u2019s the mental fortitude that has spearheaded Butler\u2019s transformation.
\u201cEveryone in this league has talent,\u201d Wade said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that separate guys. That\u2019s one of them, the mentality that it takes to \u2014 even if you\u2019re having a bad game, like in Cleveland, he wasn\u2019t shooting it well \u2014 to still be able to do that in the clutch. That\u2019s big time. Those are special players right there. He\u2019s putting himself in the category of being special.\u201d
Butler\u2019s signature moment Saturday night came late in overtime. With the Bulls leading 118-116, he isolated on the right side of the court, guarded by Kyle Lowry, who gave up six inches. Lowry did well to hold his ground against the bigger Butler, cutting off his path to drive, but it mattered not. Butler spun, then authored a stepback 25-foot 3-point over Lowry\u2019s outstretched hand for the dagger with 17.3 seconds left.
\u201cMe and (trainer) Chris (Johnson) actually worked on it last night and the night before last,\u201d Butler said of his stepback 3-pointer. \u201cYou never know when you\u2019re going to have to use moves like that. Luckily, I made it.\u201d
It\u2019s plays like those while carrying such a heavy two-way burden for the Bulls that led to this postgame question: Does Butler deserve MVP consideration?
\u201cI think so,\u201d Hoiberg said. \u201cI just think what he\u2019s done for this team and again, this stretch that he\u2019s got going right now, he just continues to add to his game. He\u2019s really playing with the ball in hands a lot now, which is something he didn\u2019t do a lot of (before Rajon Rondo\u2019s benching). We\u2019d run him off screens, get him a live catch, a pick-and-roll situation. But he\u2019s just pretty much straight up our point guard for a lot of the games right now. And he\u2019s been phenomenal.\u201d
Butler wouldn\u2019t yet enter the fray on the MVP discussion. He just wants to keep up his high-level play, which has come as he also finds himself cast into trade rumors recently.
\u201cI don\u2019t know about all that,\u201d Butler said of the MVP talk. \u201cI\u2019m taking one day, one step at a time. All that is way down the road from here. We got to continue to win if that\u2019s ever going to be a question.\u201d
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. He\u2019s also the co-host of the @LockedOnBulls podcast, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.<\/p>\n

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