FINAL FROM MEMPHIS: Bulls 110, Memphis 102. Bulls: 1-1. Memphis 0-2.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 37 points. Memphis: Jackson: 23 points.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 11. Memphis: Valanciunas: 13.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn and LaVine each with 4. Memphis: Anderson and Morant each with 5.
CCI RECAP: The Bulls came through in the second half, especially at crunch time in the fourth quarter as Zach LaVine and Coby White took over, each scoring 11 points in the period. LaVine showed why he is one of the premier players in the NBA pouring in 37 points and doing it shooting the three ball and attacking the glass. He went to the foul line 10 times. White played another outstanding game. Whether it was draining three point shots or slithering through the lane, White's confidence is growing by the day. Kris Dunn's tough defense was impactful as he agitated the highly skilled Ja Morant.
Zach LaVine drops 37 points against the Grizzlies
CCI IN THE LOCKER ROOM: Coach Boylen: "Coby is confident. He is a baller. He just plays...I'm thankful he's playing for us...I wasn't taking him out tonight." (Bulls.com)
CCI GAME BALLS: Bulls: Dunn, LaVine and White. Memphis: Jackson and Valanciunas.
UP NEXT: Home tonight with Toronto. No Kawhi Leonard but the Raptors remain a deep team with a ton of talent led by Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet. Both teams played road games last night and will deal with some level of fatigue this evening but this is the NBA; you play through it mentally and physically. It's only the third game for each team.
GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Raptors (1-1) at Bulls (1-1) 7PM.
TV: NBCSC: Neil Funk and Stacey King 7PM.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and David Schuster. 6:45 pre.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Boston 112, Toronto 106: The Celtics got it done at crunch time. Jayson Tatum 25 points 9 rebounds. Kemba Walker had 22 points - 11 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics took 109 shots and shot 38%. Pascal Siakam 33-8-2 for the Raps.
Brooklyn 113, New York 109: What promises to be a fierce series between the two teams, Kyrie Irving's three point field goal with 21 seconds left propelled the Nets to the win. After the game, Irving gave his dad his jersey.
Los Angeles Lakers, 95 Utah 86: Vintage LeBron James who turned in a 32 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists game.
Portland 122, Sacramento 112: Damian Lillard scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter...
Dallas 123, New Orleans 116: Luka Doncic. Luka Doncic. Luka Doncic. A triple double of 25-10-10. The Mavs scored 45 points in the second quarter.
Denver 108, Phoenix 107 OT: Nikola Jokic is a bonafide MVP contender: 23-14-12. Jamal Murray 27-7-3. Torrey Craig with a big time swap on Devin Booker to prevent the Suns from winning.
Minnesota 121, Charlotte 99: KAT is ballin' 37 points-15 rebounds-8 assists. T-Wolves Head Coach Ryan Saunders received the game ball in honor of his father Flip who passed away exactly four years ago. Flip Saunders was the former Head Coach - GM of Minnesota.
Washington 97, Oklahoma City 85: Washington's Thomas Bryant with a 21-11 game. First round pick Rui Hachimura added 19 for the Wizards. It's going to be a long year for the rebuilding Thunder. The good news is they have a boatload of first round picks.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls.
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