GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Houston (9-23, 3-13 on the road) at Bulls (14-18, 7-7) 7PM.
At home)
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, Alyssa Bergamini. 6:45 pre.
TV: NBCSC: Adam Amin and Stacey King: 7PM.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: DeRozan: 25 ppg. Houston: Green: 21 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Vucevic: 10 per. Houston: Sengun: 8 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: DeRozan: 4.9 per. Houston: Porter: 5 per.
CCI PREVIEW: The Bulls lead off the first of a four game home stand against a Houston team in the basement of the Western Conference.
The Bulls played outstanding basketball to cap off their road trip with three straight wins. DeMar DeRozan averaged 26-5-6 on the trip. He assisted on 26 buckets and committed just four turnovers in that span. Zach LaVine averaged 25-4-5 on the trip and has five straight games of shooting 50% or better from the field. Nikola Vucevic has four straight games of scoring 20+ points. He has two double-double games in his last three outings.
The Rockets have dropped five straight and in the first stage of a major rebuild. They have the second youngest roster in the league (23 years 58 days). Houston has the perfect coach in Stephen Silas who brings plenty of patience but one who also challenges his team to develop good habits that will carry them through the different stages of development. Jalen Green, KJ Martin, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith have tremendous upsides but it will take time, coupled with the fact the Rockets will be in the highly coveted " Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes."
With two days off the Bulls should be motivated and fresh to continue their win streak at the United Center.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Boston 139, Milwaukee 118. Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown combined for 70 points, handing Milwaukee its first three game losing streak. The Celtics own the best record in the Eastern Conference at 24-10. The Bucks are 22-11.
Dallas 124, Los Angeles Lakers 115 . The Mavs scored 51 third quarter points. Luka Doncic and Christian Wood combined for 62 points. LeBron James with a 38-6-5 game.
Golden State 123, Memphis 109. The Warriors won despite the absence of Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins. Jordan Poole scored 32 points. Golden State is 13-2 at home.
Denver 128, Phoenix 125 OT. Nikola Jokic recorded his 83rd career triple double: 41-15-14. Jokic had a 40-27-10 game last week.
Philadelphia 119, New York 122. The 76ers won their eighth straight; the Knicks suffered their third straight loss. The Knicks fell to 23-32 in Christmas Day games.
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