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Chuck's Daily Check In - 12.22.19

FINAL FROM DETROIT: Bulls 119 Pistons 107 ( Bulls: 12-19, 6-9 on the road)

LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 33 pts. Pistons: Morris: 23 pts.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 12. Pistons: Drummond: 14.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: LaVine and Satoransky each with 5. Pistons: Frazier: 9.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Bulls shot 51% from 3 point land (18-35).

IN THE LOCKER ROOM: "He's a great communicator. He's one of the top defenders in the league. He's a Defensive Player of the Year candidate to me." -Jim Boylen on Kris Dunn

RECAP: The Bulls exploded for 40 third-quarter points as they outlasted the Pistons, improving their season series record to 3-0. The Bulls were without Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison. The Pistons were minus Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose and Christian Wood. Three-point shooting aided the Bulls as Zach LaVine and Coby White each drained five long-range missiles. Wendell Carter Jr. recorded his 14th double-double of the season(12-12). Tomas Satoransky continues his stellar play with a 16-8-5 game. Lauri Markkanen has recorded 12 straight double-figure scoring games. Kris Dunn is making a case for the NBA All-Defensive team collecting four steals and a total of eight over the last three games.

The Bulls have won four of their last six games and can cap off a four-game road trip at 3-1 with a win at Orlando Monday.

UP NEXT: At Orlando Monday.

24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:

Milwaukee 123, New York 102: Giannis Antetokounmpo with a 22-11-10 game, his third triple-double of the season. No letdown for the Bucks after beating the Lakers two nights ago. The Bucks own the best record in the NBA at 26-4.

Los Angeles Clippers 134, San Antonio 109: Kawhi Leonard made life miserable for his former team with a 26-7-9-4 game.

Philadelphia 125, Washington 108: The 76ers ended a three-game slide. The Wizards have lost three straight and nine of 11. Bradley Beal keeps posting robust numbers with 36 points. Washington's Isaiah Thomas was ejected for going into the stands to confront Philly fans.

Brooklyn 122, Atlanta 112: Spencer Dinwiddie with a 39-6-6 game. He deserves serious consideration for the All-Star Game. Dinwiddie is the first Net to drop 30+ POINTS in three straight games since Devin Harris. Trae Young witch 47 but the Hawks have lost 17 out of their last 19 games.

Houston 139, Phoenix 125: James Harden ripped the nets with a 47-6-7 game. He leads the NBA in scoring at 38.5 per game. The Rockets have won 10 of 13. The Suns have lost six straight.

Utah 114, Charlotte 107: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 points. The Jazz have won five straight. Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 19 rebounds.

Memphis 119, Sacramento 115: Seven Grizzlies scored in double figures. Buddy Hield is in a major funk for the Kings. He's six of his last 33 from the field; three for 20 from three-point country.

Portland 113, Minnesota 106: Carmelo Anthony sat out with a left knee contusion. The Timberwolves have lost ten straight and are eight games under .500.

Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls

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