Game Day From Brooklyn:
Bulls: (21-42, 8-22 on the road) at Nets: (28-34, 17-14 at home)
TV: NBCSC: Jason Benetti and Stacey King: 2PM CT.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, and David Schuster: 1:45 CT pre.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 25 ppg. Nets: Dinwiddie: 20 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 9 per. Nets: Jordan: 9 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Satoransky: 5 per. Nets: Dinwiddie: 6 per.
SEASON SERIES: Brooklyn 2-0.
PREVIEW: It's a Sunday mid-afternoon game in Brooklyn as the seventh-seeded Nets host the Bulls.
The big news that rocked the NBA was the "mutually agreed " parting of Nets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, as Jacque Vaughn takes over the rest of the season. I'm not an "insider" nor do I pretend to be one, but I always viewed Atkinson as a terrific coach who did a fantastic job at the helm of the ball club. It will be interesting what type of Nets team the Bulls see this afternoon.
Going into the season, the Nets accepted the fact Kevin Durant would miss the entire 2019-20 schedule with an Achilles injury. However, what they were not counting on, were knee and shoulder issues with Kyrie Irving who played in only 20 games. He recently underwent shoulder surgery and he's done for the season.
Spencer Dinwiddie is enjoying another fine season averaging 20 points and six assists and was in All-Star conversation talk in January with his potent play. Caris LeVert has taken his game to new heights, scoring a career-high 51 points on Tuesday against Boston and Friday he recorded his first career triple-double of 27-11-10 against San Antonio.
The Bulls received a boost from Shaq Harrison who netted a career-high 25 points on Friday. His overall aggressive play is a key reason why he remains in the starting lineup.
Zach LaVine could return to the lineup after missing the last three games with a quad injury.
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Golden State 118, Philadelphia 114: Former Windy City Bull, Mychal Mulder scored a career-high 18 points
Charlotte 108, Houston 99: The Rockets dropped their third straight game. James Harden had 30 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, and 10 turnovers.
Utah 111, Detroit 105: The Jazz have won five straight. The Pistons have lost 17 of their last 21.
Cleveland 104, Denver 102: The Cavs beat the Nuggets twice this season.
Memphis 118, Atlanta 101: Memphis has won four of its last five games. Jonas Valanciunas had 27 points and 17 rebounds.
Sacramento 123, Portland 111: The Kings have won four of five in their pursuit of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
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