Dwyane Wade always sets 3-3 as his goal for an extended, six-game trip.
The Bulls, 2-2 through four games, had their chances to reach their goal improve significantly Friday when both Wade and Jimmy Butler returned to play against the Suns.
Wade missed one game with an upper respiratory infection. Butler missed the last three with a right heel contusion.
But the Suns used a 17-4 run to close the first half and take a 56-43 halftime lead. Devin Booker scored 13 points. Butler had 12.
The Bulls are without Paul Zipser, who has left ankle tendinitis. But even Isaiah Canaan, who sprained his big left toe against the Warriors, is available.
"It’s still in me, still getting it out," Wade said of his bad cold. "But I feel good enough to give my team a little. I don’t think I’m contagious, hopefully not."
The Bulls close the six-game trip Sunday in Minnesota.
"I always say if you go on a West Coast trip and you play six games and go 3-3, it’s a great trip. You go 4-2, it’s an amazing trip," Wade said. "For us, it’s about coming out and playing against a team that’s a young team but has a lot of talent. Here at home, their pace is going to be phenomenal. We have to be able to withstand that early and just execute. Not turn the ball over and let them get out in transition. Just worry about winning this game and don’t worry about the trip. You have to play each game as its own and I think we’ve done that."
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