Washington forward Caron Butler missed his fifth consecutive game with a sprained right thumb when the Wizards played the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Wizards had lost four straight since Butler - their third-leading scorer at 17.3 points - was injured in a victory at Boston last week. Coach Eddie Jordan hopes to have him back for Sunday's game against Cleveland.
"We don't think his conditioning has dropped off," Jordan said.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Thumb injury keeps Butler sidelined
Bulls take sole possession of eighth place
Ben Gordon scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, and the Chicago Bulls took sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 103-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
The Wizards lost their fifth straight and fell into a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Indiana for fifth place, with the Bulls a game back and ninth-place Philadelphia two behind.
Gordon scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, and his 3-pointer with 53.
