CHICAGO -- After watching Jimmy Butler rack up a career-high 35 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds in a 103-97 win over the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau summed up the city of Chicago's feelings toward the 25-year-old Chicago Bulls ironman.

"Just thank God for Jimmy Butler," the Bulls coach said.

On a night when the Bulls didn't have Derrick Rose (illness) or Taj Gibson (right ankle), Butler took another step in his development in a season that has already been chock full of them. Butler, as has become the case several times this season without Rose, was the focal point of Thibodeau's sets -- the guy that the rest of his teammates look toward every time down the floor.

"You can't say enough about him," Thibodeau said. "What he does, he hits big shots, plays defense, gets to the line, makes plays, plays unselfishly, plays hard, doesn't take any possessions off. He's just having a phenomenal year."

Thibodeau and his players are running out of ways to sing Butler's praises. Just when people think Butler has hit a ceiling, he bursts through it and continues climbing. Butler, who bet on himself when he declined a contract extension before the Oct. 31 deadline, has become as consistent a player as the Bulls have. Thibodeau leans on him on both ends of the floor, but the biggest key is that the Bulls are now leaning on him night to night offensively.

Veteran Pau Gasol believes Butler is taking another step toward becoming a star.

"He's playing extremely well," Gasol said. "With a lot of confidence, with a lot of aggressiveness. Just asserting himself every single game, both ends of the floor. I look forward to seeing him continue to play at this level. It's not easy to do, but he's doing outstanding and I'm just proud of him."

But why is it happening now? Why is Butler averaging eight more points a game (20.9) this season and dominating the way he has at both ends? What changed for him?

"My confidence, it's up there," he said. "Like I always say, Chris Johnson, who was my trainer over the summer in Houston, he put that in me to know that, be confident in everything you do. Ball-handling, shooting, post, in transition. That guy did a lot for me."

But Butler and Thibodeau believe he can do even more, and after watching his development through the first two months of this season, why should anyone doubt them?

"My thing to him is why put a lid on it?" Thibodeau said. "Where can it go? I don't know. All I know is it keeps going up. That's the way I want him to approach it. He brings great concentration and great effort every day. And when you bring those things and you couple that with his talent, great things are going to happen and he's showing that.

"The best leadership you could have is by doing all the right things. You can't put any more into it than what he's putting into it right now."