Final from the United Center: New Orleans 127, Bulls 125
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 28 points Nola: Williamson: 29 points.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Porter: 7 Nola: Favors: 9
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Satoransky and Porter each with 8. Nola: Ball: 9
KEY STATS:
Bulls: 38 assists. 14 made 3s (37%)
Nola: 14 made 3s (8 in the 4th quarter).
CCI RECAP:
An excellent job by the Bulls starters as Zach LaVine got it going on slams to the rim and draining threes. At one stage he made eight consecutive field goals. LaVine finished with a team high 28 points. Otto Porter Jr. was fabulous with 16 points and seven rebounds and eight assists. Tomas Satoransky got the start at the point and registered eight assists, five rebounds and 11 points. Head Coach Jim Boylen said after the game he plans to announce his starting point guard soon. I like what the bench did as Luke Kornet, making his Bulls debut, got in an early flow scoring nine points and dishing out four assists. The Pelicans scored 41 fourth quarter points as Frank Jackson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker caught fire and led the charge. Zion Williamson was a beast in the paint connecting on 12 of 13 from the field scoring a game high 29 points in 27 minutes. He is going to be a special, special player.
Game Balls: Bulls: LaVine and Porter Nola: Williamson
IN THE LOCKER ROOM:
Coach Boylen: "Zach's a special cat. He's locked in. He's worked very hard and makes it look easy at times. Proud of him."
Up Next: At Indiana Friday.
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving re-aggravated a facial injury. He played one minute against the Lakers in a preseason game in China on Thursday.
Houston 118, Toronto 111: Russell Westbrook with a 22-3-4 game. The Raps return back to Toronto and host the Bulls Sunday. The Rockets waived former number one overall pick Anthony Bennett.
Orlando 97, Atlanta 88: The Magic are expecting big things out of Jonathan Isaac and last night he delivered: 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Orlando's Terrence Ross poured in 20 off the bench. Trae Young had 18 points for the Hawks but committed eight turnovers.
Miami 108, Charlotte 94: Dion Waiters trying to get back on track after numerous injuries scored 19 off the bench for the Heat.
Milwaukee 133, Utah 99: Giannis: 22-11-4. The Bucks Eric Bledsoe suffered an oblique strain.
Detroit 124, Dallas 117: Kristaps Porzingis ...remember him? 19 minutes: 18-7-4.
Washington 137, Guangzhou (China) 98: Mo Wagner had 21 points in 21 minutes. He's going to get a ton of playing time with the Wizards.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
Always a pleasure.