GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Dallas (19-43, 7-23 on the road) at Bulls (20-41, 13-17 at home).
TV: WGN TV: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 7PM tipoff.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, and Steve Kashul: 6:45PM.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 17ppg. Mavs: Barnes: 18ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 7. Mavs: Barnes: 6.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 6. Mavs: Barea: 6.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 5, 2018 in Dallas. Bulls 127 Mavs 124. The Bulls scored 47-4th quarter points, and hung on to get the win. Kris Dunn was outstanding, scoring 32 points and assisting on nine buckets.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: The Bulls open up a three game home stand, as they host Dallas in a showcase of two of the brightest young up and coming stars in the NBA: Lauri Markkanen and Dennis Smith Jr. Both have enjoyed fine rookie seasons and have promising careers in front of them. It will be an Ames, Iowa, reunion featuring Coach Hoiberg, Harrison Barnes, and Doug McDermott. Just to refresh your memory, McDermott and Barnes played on the same high school team in Ames and have been recently reunited in Texas, as McDermott was acquired by Dallas at the trade deadline. Doug is still trying to find his place in the NBA, after bouncing around with the Bulls, OKC, NY and now Dallas. I sincerely hope he flourishes in Dallas. He’s a terrific guy and great in the locker room. Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t officially declared that his 20th season will be his last, but if it is, this will be his final appearance at the United Center. What a magnificent run. He went over the 31-thousand point mark on Wednesday against the Thunder. Expect the Bulls to continue giving long looks to Cristiano Felicia and Cam Payne.
ROSTER UPDATE: The Bulls signed forward Jarrell Eddie to a 10 day contract. He’s averaging nearly 17 points per game with the Windy City Bulls. He inked a 10 day contract earlier this season with Boston.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
No surprise here whatsoever for the NBA Players of the Month in February: LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James averaged a triple-double in a calendar month for the first time in his brilliant 15 year career, and led the EC in scoring (27ppg) and assists (10.5apg). Davis averaged a robust 35 points, 13 rebounds, 2.45 steals and over 2 blocked shots per game. The Pelicans went 8-3 in February.
Philadelphia 108 Cavs 97. Philly is 8-2 since February 6th. Saric with a huge three ball at crunch time.
Portland 108 Minnesota 99. The Blazers are ten games over .500. Lillard with 35 points.
Lakers 131 Miami 113. LA lit up a top ten defensive rated team on the road. The Lakers managed to score 73 first half points and made 16 three-point field goals on the night. The Lakers are 16-7 since January 7th.
Kings 116 Nets 111 in OT. That’s all I got.
Thanks for reading CCI. Email me at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls.
Always a pleasure!