Control of the Central Division heading into the All-Star break is up for grabs between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Pau Gasol's play could be the difference, particularly with Jimmy Butler potentially sidelined against LeBron James and company.
Chicago (33-20) owns a half-game edge over Cleveland (33-21) in the Central. Barring a surge by third-place Milwaukee, one of these teams will win the division for the fifth time in seven years.
Butler, a first-time All-Star and the Bulls' leader with 20.4 points per game, is questionable after suffering a strained right shoulder in the first half of Tuesday's 104-86 win over Sacramento.
Gasol had 26 points and 16 rebounds for his NBA-leading 34th double-double and career-best 13th in a row. He's nine shy of his career high set in 2010-11 with the Lakers.
Chicago, which has dropped 10 of 18, has lost all six times in that span in which Gasol shot worse than 50.0 percent. The Bulls are 23-6 this season when he shoots at least 50.0 percent.
"I play the right way, I play hard, I try to help my team to win and right now I'm playing at a high level," Gasol, who is set to start in the All-Star game for the first time, told the team's official website. "I just want to keep it going."
Chicago is 3-1 without Butler, only losing 114-108 in overtime to Cleveland on Oct. 31. Gasol averaged 22.7 points and 14.3 rebounds while shooting 59.0 percent in the three victories without him.
Gasol, though, was 6 for 18 with 15 points against the Cavaliers. He also struggled in a 108-94 loss at Cleveland on Jan. 19, scoring 11 on 4-of-14 shooting.
The Cavaliers (33-21) improved their NBA-best record since Jan. 15 to 14-1 with a 113-93 victory over Miami on Wednesday. James was one of seven players in double digits, recording 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He has averaged 31.7 points over his last 17 trips to Chicago, scoring 36 there earlier this season, and could be in for another big night with Butler possibly not defending him.
Kevin Love, who scored a season-high 32 points in Sunday's win over the Lakers, didn't return after suffering a corneal abrasion after being poked in the eye in the third quarter Wednesday. He's set for further examination Thursday.
While the Bulls have been mediocre over the last month, they can claim a fourth straight win for the first time since a season-best seven-game streak from Dec. 18-29.
"We still have a long way to go," said Derrick Rose, who had 23 points and seven assists against the Kings. "We still have to get everyone on the same page. We are getting better each game. Even in our losses, we improve in some quarters. It's one game; we've got to keep this going."
Chicago could be developing an additional weapon in Tony Snell, who had a career-high 24 points versus Sacramento. Snell has averaged 11.2 points on 50.6 percent shooting over his last 10 games after previously averaging 2.4 on 36.4 percent.
Kirk Hinrich is expected to miss a third straight game with a left turf toe injury, while Mike Dunleavy scored five points against the Kings after missing 19 games with a right ankle ailment.
The Bulls have lost five of their last eight home games after winning nine of their previous 10.
