FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER:
Portland 118, Bulls 98. (Bulls: 21-55, 9-29 at home)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Harrison: 21 points. Portland: Curry: 20 points.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Selden: 12. Portland: Farouq-Aminu: 11.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Blakeney, Lopez, Selden each with 4. Portland: Turner: 8 per.
CCI RECAP: A very thin Bulls roster was no match for Portland even with the absence of CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. The Bulls scored only 14-first quarter points and that set the tone the rest of the way. Wayne Selden Jr. registered his first NBA double- double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Shaq Harrison recorded his second career double- double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls bigs featuring Robin Lopez and Cristiano Felicio combined for 30 points and 14 rebounds.
CCI IN THE LOCKER ROOM: Coach Boylen: "Shaq played well, Cristiano played well. We lost the first quarter by 14 and thought that was the difference in the game. I like the way we drove the ball and competed at the rim."
I interrupted my son T. C.’s pre game work out routine with Portland players to take this picture. He is involved in the video department along with handling other responsibilities and truly loves, admires and respects everyone in the Blazers organization.
Up next: Home with Toronto, Saturday.
Markkanen Update: Lauri Markkanen has been undergoing a series of tests to determine the cause of an episode of a rapid heart rate and fatigue during the game in Toronto on March 26. At this point all testing has been normal, but as a precaution, the medical team has recommended additional testing over the next 10-14 days. Markkanen will not return for the remainder of the season. “The long-term health of our players is always our organization’s top priority,” said John Paxson, Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. “We will continue to monitor Lauri’s condition and work with our medical staff and doctors to provide him with everything he may need.”
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Washington 124, Phoenix 121. The Suns Devin Booker became the youngest player (22 years old) with consecutive 50-point games but for the second straight game his team loss. Booker scored 50 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Wizards. On Monday, Booker had 59 against Utah.
Utah 115, Los Angeles Lakers 100. The Jazz are getting hot at the right time having won eight of their last nine games.
Golden State 118, Memphis 103. Kevin Durant went 12-13 from the field, scoring 28 points. Steph Curry with a 28-10 rebounds game. Jonas Valanciunas continues to hoop for the Grizzlies with a 27-13 game.
Oklahoma City 107, Indiana 99. Paul George scored 31 points. The Thunder went on a 24-0 blitz to put the game away. Russell Westbrook with a 17-11-12 game-his 29th double-double of the season.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure!