DENVER — It didn’t take long for the Bulls’ “enforcer” — all 195 pounds of him — to join the fray Monday night.

A hard foul on forward Patrick Williams in the third quarter of an improbable 130-127 victory over the Nuggets led to words being exchanged — just the kind of party for guard Dalen Terry to crash.

He ran into the gathering under the basket and started chirping angrily at Nuggets guard Bruce Brown.

“I didn’t like the way he fouled Pat,” Terry said. “I said to [him], ‘Why did you do that?’ ”

In those exact, expletive-free words?

Terry laughed.

“Yeah, I said it just like that,” he said.

It has been easy for Bulls coach Billy Donovan to find consistent playing time for Williams, guard Ayo Dosunmu and big man Jalen Smith off the bench this season, and while they were key to the win on a night when the starters looked gassed from a double-overtime affair in Salt Lake City the night before, they didn’t do it alone. Donovan also called on guard Jevon Carter, Terry and forward Julian Phillips, and that’s really where the game was won.

Carter finished with 15 points — all three-pointers — and was a plus-20 in plus/minus. Terry had five points, four assists and three rebounds and was a plus-18. Phillips contributed a basket and three rebounds and was a plus-8.

Donovan praised all three after the game, especially Carter, whom he called one of the hardest-working players he has been around.

“It means a lot, you know, coming from a Hall of Fame coach,” Carter said. “What more can he say? That’s my guy. I love Billy. Whenever he calls me, I’ll be ready. We just come in and play. No matter what the score is, we’re going to treat it like it’s 0-0. We’re just going to play and let the results take care of themselves.”

Carter has preached that message to Terry and Phillips as all three swim in uncertainty about their NBA futures. Carter, 30, is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and the other two also are at a point where decisions soon will need to be made. Terry, 23, who’s coming up on the end of his rookie contract, becomes a restricted free agent at season’s end. Phillips’s rookie deal has a team option for one more season.

Limited playing time unfortunately makes it hard for any of the three to showcase his talent, whether it’s for the Bulls or other teams.

“That’s about our professionalism,” Terry said. “[Carter] has taught me that no matter what, just be ready. And with Julian, just being almost the same age [22], it means something when we’re out there playing together because we’re going through this journey together. It shows that even with the guys that don’t get the minutes that they maybe deserve, we’re all good players. We’re all NBA players that can make an impact.”

Terry can make his by continuing to be as close to a real enforcer as the Bulls have. Even with his slight build, he has done what few do, getting in the faces of menacing players such as Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart.

He, Carter and Phillips also have each other for support.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs, but when you have someone to lean on, it really feels good when you have those moments together,” Phillips said. “It really is a brotherhood.”

Coach Billy Donovan thought the game in Denver on Monday would favor Essengue getting some quality NBA minutes, but that wasn’t the case. It remained a wait-and-see as the Bulls’ western swing came to an end.

 

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Even when they’re together and one-on-one games turn ugly — and they do — it’s just brotherly love.

 

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The money helps support his mother’s work on health and wellness, specifically with making specialists, technology and care more accessible for patients dealing with stroke, spine treatment, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other health issues.

 

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