GAME NIGHT FROM OAKLAND:
Bulls (10-31, 5-15 on the road) at Golden State (27-14, 16-6 at home).
TV: NBC Sports Chicago. Neil Funk and Stacey King. 9:30PM CT tip
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, Steve Kashul. 9:15 PM CT pre
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 23 ppg. Golden State: Curry: 28 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 7 per. Golden State: Green: 8 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 6 per. Golden State: Green: 6 per.
LAST MEETING: October 29, 2018 at the United Center, Golden State - 149 Bulls 124.
This game was over early. The Warriors led by 92-50 at halftime. Klay Thompson set an NBA record drilling 14-3s.
CCI PREVIEW: Injuries, boredom, emotionally and physically drained and toss in some drama... ladies and gentlemen meet your 2018-19 defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. It happens. It’s human nature. Lots of hoops leads to injuries. Lots of basketball success puts the pressure to win night in night out at an unrealistic level of expectation. Playing ball until late June in each of the past five seasons does take a toll on the body as well. Having said all this, Golden State is still Golden State. They’ll get a jump start in two weeks with the expected return of DeMarcus Cousins who has missed the entire season after rupturing his Achilles last year as a member of the Pelicans. This is going to be an intriguing fit for the Warriors.
The Bulls need to get back in transition and not lose sight of the Warriors wings. Golden State can score. And score. And score. I get it. But the Bulls cannot allow open looks. Curry, Durant, Klay, Green, etc. Enough said. The Warriors average 116 points per game. They lead the NBA in field goal and free throw percentages. They’re fourth in the NBA shooting the three at 38%. Expect the Bulls to slow the pace and play a physical brand of basketball.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
San Antonio 154 - OKC 147. 2OT. The game of the season in the NBA, a thriller! The Spurs became the first team since 2010 to score 150 points in an NBA game. The Spurs went 16 of 19 from 3pt range. LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career high 56 points going 16-16 from the line. He then asked for the ball after the game. Westbrook 24-13-24.
Miami 115 - Boston 99. Dwayne Wade on national TV is always a big stage event for the future HOF player. Wade scored eight of his 19 points in the third quarter. Miami set season highs with 18 3 pointers and 33 assists.
Denver 121 - LAC 100. Nikola Jokic with his 21st career triple double. His 18-14-10 game propelled the Nuggets to their 11th straight home win.
Sacramento 112 - Detroit 102. Willie Cauley-Stein 14-14. Blake Griffin sat out the game for the 17-23 slumping Pistons, losers of four straight and eight of ten.
LeBron James is still dealing with a groin injury and will miss the next three games for the Lakers including the Bulls contest next Tuesday.
The Cavs will be without Larry Nance Jr. For an indefinite time with a sprained right knee.
From @AndrewDBailey. Luka Doncic has 793 PTS, 268 REB & 195 AST thru his 1st 40 NBA games. Oscar Robertson's the only player in NBA history who hit all 3 marks in his 1st 40 games.
Thanks for reading CCI. You can reach out to cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure.