To clinch the second night of a rugby game, the Bulls were 125-120 at the United Center, opening a two-game winning streak.
Because every game this season needs a note like this: John Wall and Danuel House missed this one for Houston. The Bulls, meanwhile, without Otto Porter Jr. (low back strain) and Patrick Williams (hip contusion) played.
This is what stood out:
Sloppy start …
Without two of their most solid wingers, reasonable observers have worried about the Bulls’ defense, which finished 27th in the NBA.
But the Rockets made life easy for them early on with a sloppy game. The visitors finished the first quarter with nine turnovers, a 6-for-18 shooting point off the floor and just 16 points – a lowest season for a Bulls opponent.
Do not twist it: the Bulls were not sterling either. They cough up six own turnover in the opening frame and start cold off the floor. But a lead from Ryan Arcidiacono on the buzzer gave them a lead of 12 points after one:
Against the last buzz, the teams that came in that evening combined 25th (Rockets) and 29th (Bulls) in turnover per game for 34 of them – 17 each.
… followed by unnecessary shooting
In second place, the Bulls’ lead increased to as much as 17, but the Rockets fought back and cut their backlog to 12 at halftime behind the red-hot 3-point shooting (6-for-10, though the Bulls with 7 – for-13 in its own right).
That frightening shooting for both sides continued into the second half. The Rockets repeated their long-range 6-for-10 performance in the third, while the Bulls shot 5-for-10. In the fourth position, each side was above 44 percent from 3 on 65 joint attempts.
And by the end of the night, the Bulls (20-for-45, 44.4%) and Rockets (17-for-40, 42.5%) combined for 37 long balls. This is the Bulls’ second game this season with 20 or more 3s.
The Bulls also had five players for the second time in franchise history tripling more than three:
Add to that seven of their ten-man rotation in double digits, and all but Adam Mokoka (who scored just two minutes) scored seven or more, and it was a well-balanced attack for the hosts in this one.
“I think the balance of having five to seven guys in double figures every night is important for this group,” Donovan said. “I just introduced the group to a team that would have to move and cut and generate shots together. And I think if we can do that, we can be a good attacking team.”
Shooting
After the sluggish start, the said second term woke up the stars.
Victor Oladipo, in his Rockets debut after being traded for Caris LeVert as part of the wide James Harden trade, got boiled down and scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
And Zach LaVine, after struggling at the gate with four points (all on free throws) and four times in the first 18 minutes of the game, responded. He scored nine points (4-for-5 shooting) and an assist in the final five and a half minutes of the first half to fend off the Rockets, who at one point pulled within a few figures. Two Lauri Markkanen 3s in that quarter also helped.
LaVine added another 14 to help the Bulls leave the third quarter ahead 93-86, despite the Rockets moving to just three points. He crowned six in the fourth quarter, but a beautiful glider helped the Bulls increase their lead to 116-111 with less than two minutes of play after an Oladipo 3 pulled the Rockets back into one possession.
LaVine also dished out three assistants in the final frame, including what was essentially a winning game from Markkanen. We’ll get to that later.
RELATED: How the Bulls offense Behind a Zach LaVine Evolves
Oladipo ended the evening with 32 points; LaVine led all scorers by 33 on an effective 11-for-16 (4-for-8 of 3), plus seven assists, two steals, one block and 7-for-8 shooting. Twenty of the points and five of the assists came in the second half, while his five turnovers looked less unsightly considering how many of them came early.
““I see myself as a leading man in the league,” LaVine said, “and I want to show it. ‘
His stat line for the season: 27.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game with 49.8-38.7-86.2 shooting distribution – everyone career highlights.
The reserves drive
A day after a 61-point lead against the short-headed Mavericks, the Bulls bench once again gave a spark against a somewhat exhausted Rockets rotation. The host won the match 41-28.
Daniel Gafford scored striking minutes for the second consecutive game, counting seven points, two blocks and a stolen score. Donovan calls his DNP in Markkanen’s first game of health and safety protocols a decision-based decision, and it appears he will play a solid role for this team.
With Williams and Porter out, Denzel Valentine re-entered the rotation after not playing against the Mavericks. Honestly, it was the most Denzel Valentine game my young eyes have seen. He scored 24 chaotic, undeniably valuable minutes, scoring 13 points, scoring three tries, catching eight rebounds and finishing with a plus-14 individual points difference.
“I’m playing a little catch up, “Valentine said, referring to a November hamstring injury that caused him to miss training camp and the season. But he (Donovan) is seeing what I can bring to the table in terms of scoring, playing, my toughness and just bringing energy out there. ‘
Thad Young (12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, team-high plus 15) and Arcidiacono (nine points, two assists) were solid again, and Garrett Temple – who ran with the forwards in Williams’ place – continued strong play with 13 points and three made 3s.
Another notch in the belt of this budding unit.
Build momentum
Although the outcome of this was in the balance for parts of the fourth quarter, the Bulls repulsed the Rockets and emerged victorious. A Drained Markkanen 3 pushed them 119-113 by 119-113 by 46.9 seconds, coming off especially from a LaVine assistant.
“It takes experience. Over the last few years, teams have started to double you. I have to learn that I can not defeat them alone,” LaVine said. “I have to learn how to use the pace. I tried out-of-season trying to figure out by watching movies how I could make the plays and let the game come to me.”
Twenty-three team assistants fail to sum up the number of offensive possessions the Bulls had, which looked like that one. Donovan said the Rockets conversion sometimes stagnated them. But at key moments, the ball cracked.
Markkanen ended the close game in the middle – he arranged the last two minutes of the Thunder crash there – surrounded by Young, Temple, LaVine and White. The shot confirmed the call. Eleven of his 12 field goal attempts coming from the three-point series are not ideal, but his 18 points, seven rebounds and a myriad of timing builds on a piece of strong play.
‘We all understood, coaching staff down to the bottom, that we were hurting it [OKC] game on, “LaVine said.” And there was, of course, a lot of frustration. We responded in the right way. ‘
And just like that, the Bulls have a winning streak on their hands. They won two in a row, moving to 6-8, right in the early, busy group near the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Next: On the way to the Charlotte Hornets Friday.
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