Chuck's Daily Check In - 12.17.18

TV: WGN TV: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 7PM CT
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, Steve Kashul. 6:45 pre.

LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 15 per game. OKC: George: 24 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Portis: 8 per game. OKC: Westbrook: 10 per game.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 4. OKC: Westbrook: 10 per game.

LAST MEETING: UNITED CENTER - Dec. 7, 2018
Bulls 114 OKC 112. Lauri Markkanen with a terrific spin move on Paul George put the Bulls ahead in the waning moments as the Bulls held their collective breath watching Paul George miss a wide open top side three point field goal as the clock expired lifting the Bulls to victory. Markkanen and Zach LaVine combined for 49 points. Justin Holiday drilled four three pointers. Russell Westbrook with a nasty 24-17-13 game. Steven Adams got it going early and finished with a 21-10 game.

CCI PREVIEW: The final contest of a three game, six day road trip that feel as though it’s been three months due to the amount of time spent in Mexico City. No complaints but the Bulls look forward to returning home but first things first... the Thunder. Zach LaVine will miss tonight’s game with an ankle injury. The Bulls brought toughness and purpose in the second half in San Antonio Kris Dunn was outstanding. Lauri Markkanen loves the big stage and Bobby Portis always brings energy off the bench. One of the best wins by a Bulls team in my eleven years calling radio play by play.

Meantime, OKC is OKC. Westbrook, George, Adams. They are incredibly good. Is OKC good enough to win the West? The playoffs are just over four months away. Will GM Sam Presti make a deal to bolster the roster? The Thunder’s payroll is second highest to Miami in the NBA at 146-million 310 thousand dollars. Not a lot of wiggle room for Presti to maneuver for a possible add on. The Western Conference is up for grabs and it’s great for the NBA. Don’t — I repeat DON'T - hand the title to Golden State... not yet anyway.

Denver 95 Toronto 86. The Nuggets held the road weary Raps to a season low in scoring. Toronto finished four games out west at 2-2 with blowout wins over LAC and Golden State and losing to Portland and Denver.

Washington 128 Los Angeles Lakers 110. A spectacular night for John Wall: These are video game numbers: 40 points, 6 rebounds, 14 assists, 4 made 3s, 3 steals, 2 blocks. Wall joins Gilbert Arenas as the only players in Washington franchise history with multiple 40+ points 10+ assists games.

Indiana 110 New York 99. The Pacers have won seven straight. Victor Oladipo was magnificent with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and a season high 5 steals.

Philadelphia 128 Cleveland 106. Ben Simmons recorded his third double-double of the season: 22-11-14. Jimmy Butler returned after missing two games with a strained groin and scored 19 points.

Brooklyn 144 Atlanta 127. The 144 points are the most scored in a regulation game by the Nets since April 1982. The 144 points given up by the Hawks on the road is the most since November 1970.

Sacramento 120 Dallas 113. The Kings have found their mojo. Sac-Town improves to 16-13. Fox and Hield combined for 56 points.

Miami 102 New Orleans 96. A really good win for the Heat and a really bad loss for the Pelicans. Miami capped off a road trip winning four games in eleven days. Impressive.

Thanks for reading CCI. You can reach out to cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure.