The Bulls scored their second victory in a row by defeating the Rockets 120-100 in Houston on Monday night.
The Rockets played without Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins and Christian Wood. This is their eighth consecutive loss.
Here are 14 comments:
1. Stephen Silas has trampled a first five runs of 6 feet or less with his team exhausted: John Wall, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, Danuel House Jr. and PJ Tucker. In fact, Rodions Kurucs was the only active rocket above 6-6.
2. The Bulls responded well to that early on and tore a 20-2 run in the first quarter to turn an early 5-2 deficit into a 22-7 lead. The Rockets moved back 17-7 to finish just five for the first time, and 54-48 behind.
3. Coby White ripped out of the gates at halftime (6-for-11) at halftime on a game-high 13 points (plus 7 rebounds). He left for the locker room early in the third quarter after taking a hard fall against a set-up of the John Wall scam – and apparently hitting his head on the basket – but returning later in the period. He and Billy Donovan said he was away after the game due to a cut to his lip, not to introduce a concussion protocol.
(White’s night ends with his third double double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He got a spark from deep in fourth place to finish 10-for-16 off the floor and 4-for-7 from 3rd performance.)
4. By the time White was out of the game in the third game, the Bulls were on a tremendous run of 31-16, extending a 58-51 lead to 89-67. That third quarter, in which the Bulls built up as much as a 31-point lead, was about as scary and effective as they had played all season. A few zooms in:
- In third place, they outscored the Rockets 46-26, and the Bulls scored the highest point of the season, 19-for-25 (76%) off the field, 7-for-9 (77.8%) from 3 and pendulum 10 help.
- Zach LaVine scored 14 points on an excellent 5-out-5 shot, 3-for-3 of 3, after scoring just 7 (with 5 assistants) in the first half.
- Thad Young added 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a ton of plays during the run-up.
5. Wendell Carter Jr. ‘s outing should be in the running for his best of the season – and certainly his best in five games since returning from injury. He finishes with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals, and takes care of business against the scaled-down Rockets front line.
6. Patrick Williams also enjoyed a strong evening with 14 and 7 plates. This game was his 29th game of the season, equal to what he played in Florida State last season.
7. White, Carter and Williams carried the cargo in the first half before the locks opened. Often the Bulls have relied on LaVine’s heroic deeds or the game of their veterans this season to pull opponents away, so it was encouraging to see three non-LaVine members of the ‘young core’ make a significant impact. .
8. Those veterans still filled the state skin. Young finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Tomáš Satoranský had 10 points and 4 cents. Garrett Temple and 2 3’s.
9. After a 1-for-7 night of 3, Denzel Valentine is now 2-for-20 from behind the arc in his last four games, though he has thrown down a hard dunk.
10. The Bulls put six players in double figures and cleared 50 percent of the field and 40 percent of 3. Signs of a healthy offense.
11. Not sure if you can call it a ‘revenge match’ given the defeat, but old mate David Nwaba scored a career high of 22 points, getting 9 rebounds and 2 steals with his typical hyperactivity.
12. A Stat Donovan will like: the Bulls have committed just 12 turnovers in this one. They played an average of 13.1 times per game in February – 10th in the NBA and well below their season-long, 29th position of 16.1.
13. The Bulls also shot the Rockets shooting to below 40 percent, surpassing their nine. Feathers in the cap of a defense that makes it look better …
14. … and an easy win to move to 14-16. These types of victories – comfortable against inferior competition on paper – have not been taken for granted this past season.
Next: Wednesday back at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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