FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Bulls 108 Dallas 100. Bulls (21-41, 14-17 at home).
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Portis: 22 points. Mavs: Barnes: 26 points.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 12. Mavs: Powell: 11.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 7. Mavs: Matthews: 4.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: The Bulls trailed 10-0 early in the game and by as many as 14, then turned it on in the fourth quarter, out scoring Dallas 30-15. Bobby Portis went to work, scoring eight of his team high 22 points in the quarter, with strong post up moves in the paint. Portis took over the game, making three-straight hoops, as he tallied 15 points in the second half. Lauri Markkanen and David Nwaba each posted double-double games. Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn each nailed big shots at crunch time. The core group of this young Bulls team is fun to watch. The best is yet to come.
CCI STAT OF THE NIGHT: 16-4. The Bulls' run to end the game in the final five minutes.
CCI GAME BALL: Too many to name. The Bulls snapped a five game slide and got contributions from several players. Portis extended his double figure scoring streak to 11 straight games. He is hooping it up. After the game, Coach Hoiberg announced that Portis will start the next five games, beginning on Monday at home against Boston.
21,017 fans went crazy at the United Center; it was a fabulous crowd and the vibe was excellent.
UP NEXT: Boston on Monday at the United Center.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Toronto 102 Washington 95. The Raps have won 10 out of their last 11 games. The Toronto bench is deep and talented, out scoring the Wizards’ reserves, 50-15. Wowza.
Indiana 103 Milwaukee 96. Oladipo with 21. The Bucks backcourt is really banged up.
Golden State 114 Atlanta 109. That’s loss number 44 for ATL. Golden State has won five straight and won its 49th game of the season. Steph Curry turned his right ankle in the first quarter, returned, then left for good in the third period.
Philadelphia 110 Charlotte 99. 13 straight home wins for the 76ers, as the Hornets are fading from the playoff picture in the East. Ersan Ilyasova, returning to Philadelphia after being bought out by Atlanta, scored 11 of his 18 points int he fourth quarter.
LAC 128 New York 105. DeAndre Jordan with 19 points and 20 rebounds. The Clippers out rebounded the Knicks 51-33. NY has dropped three straight and 11 of 12.
Utah 116 Minnesota 108. Feisty game with Jeff Teague and KAT ejected. Double techs on Coach Thibs and Jae Crowder. A Twitter exchange between two former Marquette teammates in Crowder and Jimmy Butler. Just another day in the NBA! Yea, there was a game, of course! A tough back-to-back for the T-Wolves. After losing in Portland on Thursday, the Jazz got a monster game from Rudy Gobert: 26 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks. Donovan Mitchell scored 26.
Orlando 115 Detroit 106 OT. The Magic saw their seven-game losing streak end, as Aaron Gordon had a 27-13 night. Gordon played outstanding defense on Blake Griffin, who went 5 of 14 from the field.
Denver 108 Memphis 102. Gary Harris, who is is having an outstanding season, scored 26. The Grizzlies have dropped 12 straight games. Memphis has the lowest winning percentage in the NBA at 29.5 percent.
OKC 124 Phoenix 116. The Suns have lost 9 out of their last 10.
JR Smith was suspended one game by the Cavs for throwing a bowl of soup, that’s right, a bowl of soup, at assistant coach Damon Jones. (ESPN)
Danilo Gallinari has a non-displaced fracture of his hand, and is out for at least two weeks, according to the Clippers.
Thanks for reading CCI. Email me at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls.
Always a pleasure!