BOTTOM LINE: Spurs 87 Bulls 77
LaMarcus Aldridge (who else?) 28-10 vs. Bulls.
Bulls: Robin Lopez 16 points 7 rebounds
Lauri Markkanen 13 points 12 rebounds.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: 20 turnovers. Bulls have committed a total of 39 the first two games with opponents scoring a combined 50 points.
STAT #2: Lauri Markkanen with a double-double in his second NBA game (13 points - 12 rebounds). Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich is impressed with the seventh overall pick and that's good enough for me.
STAT #3: Robin Lopez in his 630th NBA career game, knocked down his first 3pt field goal in eight attempts. He's been working on extending his shooting touch. Lopez attempted three of them last night.
STAT #4: The Bulls shot 28% from 3 point range (8-28) and went to the foul line just nine times.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: Bobby Portis publicly apologized to Niko Mirotic following an altercation in practice.
“I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization and, most importantly, my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is."
INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM: Despite the 0-2 start and a difficult schedule ahead, coupled with the fact they're playing undermanned, the players feel things are correctable regarding turnovers and taking the ball to the rim more aggressively and getting to the line.
UP NEXT: Tuesday at Cleveland.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Prior to the game, the NBA honored Danny Crawford, recognizing his 32 years of service as an NBA official. Crawford retired at the end of last year's playoffs. He is a true gentleman and the sport was blessed to have him as a great referee. Spoke to Danny prior to the game and he looks great and is enjoying retirement.
Speaking of officials.....Steph Curry and Kevin Durant tossed in last night's loss at Memphis...apparently not on the same page with referees.
The Knicks blew a 17 point lead and lost to the Pistons. The MSG faithful attending the game were not happy with the collapse.
Oh my, the 0-3 Suns are giving up an average of nearly 129 points per game. The Suns have suffered two 40 point losses in the past four days.
A monster game for Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring a career high 44 as the Bucks edged Portland. This kid is so much fun to watch.
Center Joel Embiid has not received clearance to play in back to back games (knee) so without the gifted big man in the lineup, the 76ers dropped to 0-3 getting shelled by 34 in Toronto.
The new look Clippers have a nice 2-0 vibe but starting point guard Milos Teodosic had to be carried off the floor in the second quarter with a left foot injury. An MRI is scheduled for today.
How about the Magic...on the road in Cleveland. Orlando ended a 17 game slide against the Cavs with a victory. Derrick Rose missed the game with an ankle injury sustained Friday in Milwaukee. The NBA upgraded Greg Monroe's common foul to a flagrant one. Rose's status for Tuesday's game against the Bulls remains unclear.
Boogie being Boogie....it didn't take long for DeMarcus Cousins to hit the ATM machine. The big man of the Pelicans was fined 25 thousand dollars for directing inappropriate language towards a fan. The incident occurred with 0:50 sec remaining in the Pelicans loss to Memphis.
Guard Jameer Nelson is now a member of the Pelicans. Great guy in the locker room, understands his role.
Email me your thoughts at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls
Thanks for reading CCI! Always a pleasure.