The nightmare that's the annual Circus Trip has finally come to an end for the Chicago Bulls, and while there was Derrick Rose drama and some of the usual hiccups, the trip ended on a high note with two consecutive victories. With the two straight wins, the Bulls finished the trip 4-3. Let's recap what happened. 

Bulls 105, Clippers 89

No Rose. No Pau Gasol. No problem. The extremely short-handed Bulls looked like they were going to get slammed in Los Angeles, but they erased a 14-point deficit and turned the table on the Clippers.

Jimmy Butler led six players in double figures with 22 points, while Joakim Noah had 11 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. This was the type of short-handed win Bulls fans have become accustomed to the last few seasons. 

Kings 103, Bulls 88

After two nights off, the Bulls were again without Rose and Gasol in Sacramento. Chicago got off to a hot start, but they couldn't sustain the success and were outscored by 22 points over the final three quarters in its first road loss of the year. Butler again led the Bulls in scoring with 23 points. DeMarcus Cousins was a load down low, scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Cousins' battle with Noah nearly caused some fireworks, as the Bulls big man nearly pulled a repeat performance of his meltdown last season in Sacramento. 

Trail Blazers 105, Bulls 87

Kirk Hinrich joined Rose and Gasol on the sideline, and the tired Bulls had no chance against a well-rested Blazers squad. Portland jumped on Chicago immediately, and although the Bulls' reserves somehow made it a game again in the second quarter, the starters couldn't keep it up.

Adding injury to insult was the fact that Taj Gibson sprained his left ankle for the second time this season. The lone bright spot was Nikola Mirotic, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds in the blowout. 

Bulls 97, Jazz 95

The Bulls stopped the bleeding in Rose and Gasol's return to the lineup, but barely. Rose scored 10 of his 18 points in the first four minutes thanks to some hot outside shooting and Chicago went up by 21 in the second quarter. However, the Jazz came roaring back and even held a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter before the Bulls took the lead for good on Mike Dunleavy's put-back layup in the final minute. Gordon Hayward had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but he missed a good look from three. Butler had 25 points and shut down Hayward, and Gasol poured in 23. 

Nuggets 114, Bulls 109

The Rose drama was in full effect in this one. The Bulls star played just 10 minutes before leaving when he supposedly re-injured his hamstring, but both he and head coach Tom Thibodeau said there was no re-injury. Thibodeau didn't like what he saw out of Rose in his limited minutes on the floor, and both agreed to play it safe by not playing him in the second half. Butler had 32 points and almost led Chicago back in the final minutes, only to come up short. 

Bulls 109, Celtics 102

The Bulls' defense was a train wreck for much of the game, and the Celtics went up by 16 points in the second quarter because of it. But Chicago clamped down in the fourth quarter, holding Boston to 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting in the final frame. Butler led the Bulls with 22 points, while Noah had 15 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocks. Rose played and played pretty well, putting up 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. 12 of those points came in the first four minutes of the second half. 

Bulls 102, Nets 84

The Bulls overwhelmed the Nets in the second half to close out the Circus Trip in style. Butler led the Bulls with 26 points on 12 shots and averaged 22.7 points on the trip. Gasol almost matched Butler with 25 points on 12 shots to go along with 13 rebounds. Rose had a relatively quiet game, scoring 14 points in 26 minutes. But most importantly, this was the first time all year the point guard made it through two straight games without some sort of injury. Baby steps.