FINAL FROM PORTLAND: Portland 112, Bulls 107 (Bulls 10-5, 5-3 on the road)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls- LaVine (30 pts), Portland- Lillard (22 pts)
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls- Caruso (10), Portland- Nurkic (9)
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls- Caruso (9), Portland- Lillard (10)
CCI STAT OF THE NIGHT: Portland made 27-28 free throws.
CCI RECAP: A tough, tough loss for the Bulls who led by 15 at halftime. The Bulls struggled in the third quarter, opening the door for the Blazers who were re-energized by the Bulls 10-third quarter turnovers. On the night, the Bulls committed 15 turnovers leading to 29 Portland points. The Trail Blazers outscored the Bulls 64-44 in the second half. Zach LaVine led all scorers with 30 points, drilling seven-three pointers. DeMar DeRozan added 22. Alex Caruso finished one assist shy of a triple double, posting a 12-10-9 stat line.
The Bulls finish off a five-game road swing with a Friday game at Denver. The Nuggets entertain the 76ers tonight.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Milwaukee 109, Los Angeles Lakers 102: Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 47 points. Khris Middleton returned to the Bucks lineup after missing eight games with Covid-19 issues.
Miami 113, New Orleans 98: The Heat welcomed back Jimmy Butler from the injury list who responded with a 31-10-10 game. The Pels dropped to 2-14.
Atlanta 110, Boston 99: The Hawks won their third straight and improved to 6-1 at home.
Detroit 97, Indiana 89: The NBA's number one overall pick, Cade Cunningham scored 16 points for the Pistons.
Charlotte 97, Washington 87: The Hornets have won four straight.
Orlando 104, New York 98: The Magic picked up their fourth win of the season, two at the expense of the Knicks.
Brooklyn 109, Cleveland 99:James Harden, Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for 70 points. The short-handed Cavs played without five starter/rotation players.
Phoenix 105, Dallas 98: The Suns won their 10th straight game.
Oklahoma City 101, Houston 89: Lu Dort scored 34 points for the Thunder as the Rockets fell to 1-14.
Minnesota 107, Sacramento 97: Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.
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