recap

Sam Smith

Zach LaVine knew a few things about the moment in a tie game with 15.2 seconds left, the Orlando Magic with the ball. "You have to make a play some way or some form," Bulls guard Zach LaVine was saying after the Bulls 105-101 victory. "If it's a shot or a defensive effort or rebound, steal, something; you have to make a play."

The games always are about making a play. Who can? Who wants to? Who will?

This was the scene: The Bulls had lost an 18-point fourth quarter lead. Orlando went ahead 101-98 with 2:41 left on Evan Fornier's three, the Magic's fourth in the previous five minutes. Bobby Portis immediately matched that 12 seconds later. And then no one scored, LaVine missing a pullup 20 footer with 17.3 seconds left. Magic ball for presumably a last shot for the win or overtime. Jonathon Simmons was inbounding from the right sideline opposite the Bulls bench. The Magic believed they could get a play for Simmons matched up against Lauri Markkanen. LaVine, who had made the winner in last Friday's thrilling win over Minnesota, knows closing games even as he hasn't done so that much in his fourth NBA season.

"Everyone wants to have the ball in their hands at the end of the game," said LaVine, apparently unaware not everyone actually seeks out that moment. "But you have to have the confidence and ability to do it. I think I do."

LaVine also knows aggression is rewarded. He knows the officials are going to allow some contact. The strong survive, and all that.

"You have to be sharper," said LaVine. "You have to understand there probably won't be a lot of fouls called. You have to be aggressive. Both teams are trying to win the game, especially at the end; so you have to make a big play."

But it's not only desire; it's the execution coaches like to talk about. Also anticipation and intellect. So LaVine also knows on an inbounds play, the ideal is to get the receiver off balance, leaning away from the basket.

"I'm trying to push it out as far as possible so it's harder for them to get into their play, closer to half court," explained LaVine. "I bumped him early. Then as he got closer to the three-point line, shaded to the right and I think he made it harder of a pass and I just jumped the lane."

And distract the passer. That was Justin Holiday's assignment. Instead of jumping around like players often to, Holiday was collaborating with LaVine, shaded to his left to force the pass out toward halfcourt. So Holiday stretched his long arms width wise, luring Simmons to put the ball out ahead of receiver Shelvin Mack. "Justin made a good play, shaded the ball," said LaVine.

Anticipating that, LaVine first began bumping Mack as he moved to get the ball and then with that quick first step bounded out ahead of Mack over Mack's right shoulder. "I pushed up on him," said LaVine. "The main thing I was trying to do was get him up the floor a little and make it tough. I bumped into Mack, (Holiday) made the dude pass it, obviously, to the left; came in and made an aggressive play on the ball." With Mack having to reach for the ball, LaVine knew he was quicker.

"I don't know if a lot of people were catching me when I got it," said LaVine, who streaked in for the slam dunk and 103-101 Bulls lead with 12.4 seconds left. "I was going down there to get a couple of points."

The Magic got a Mario Henonja airballed three from Nikola Mirotic distance and then LaVine added a pair of free throws for the Bulls victory.

The Bulls may just have a big time guy there; or three.

It was hardly the highlight game of the night in the NBA with the Bulls moving to 20-38 and the Magic falling to 18-38. Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 21 points and added eight rebounds. Portis had 19 points and LaVine 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jerian Grant with Kris Dunn still out following his Jan. 17 concussion had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Denzel Valentine had 11 points and his first dunk as an NBA player and Holiday had eight points and a team high nine rebounds. Hezonja had 24 points for Orlando and Fornier 22.

There will be debate around the Bulls for the rest of the season about the worthiness of winning with so much attention to draft picks and draft lottery odds with losses. That, however, cannot be the focus of the players or coaches. Their job is to win games.

There will come a time after the All-Star break, the team already has promised, when more young players who have't played much this season, like Cristiano Felicio, Cameron Payne and newly acquired Noah Vonleh will play regularly. Perhaps that will not always produce the team's best lineups. But as long as LaVine, Markkanen and Dunn play, which it seems they will, the Bulls should be competitive.

And, after all, if the Bulls cannot be competitive with those players on the floor, then there would be issues with those players. There appear to be many fewer than expected with LaVine in just his 13th game back after missing 11 months following serious knee surgery making winners and stand out closing plays in two of the last three games.

"He made a great read on the play, shooting the gap and getting the steal," agreed Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. "Obviously, we needed it."

The Bulls also needed to see more of the old from the young Markkanen after he'd missed three games for personal reasons and seemed out of the offense the last few games. Hoiberg made an emphasis to feature Markkanen inside. The seven footer responded with a series of scores on mismatches and strong, driving finishes even as he missed all six of his three-point attempts.

"We wanted to try to get Lauri on the block early in the game," said Hoiberg. "He had some wide open looks. He makes a couple of those that he's normally going to knock down, Lauri's looking at a 30-point game. He just missed a few, but he was great on the block."

After a dreary opening for both teams, the Magic made seven straight shots and Grant carried the Bulls early with nine points and four assists in the first quarter, having a direct hand in more than half the points in a 30-27 first quarter Bulls lead. Sounds like Grant may be hearing Cameron Payne footsteps. The Bulls got Markkanen inside in the second quarter with Portis' much improved shooting opening the court again.

"Coach always says the open shot is the best shot for us," said Portis. "If we keep passing, we might not get as good a shot." Bobby knows shooting these days.

The Bulls led 53-51 at halftime and then LaVine and Holiday made threes early in the second quarter, Holiday with a move and step back that had Fornier circling like he was on a Paris traffic circle. But the Bulls, as they often do, went dry, seven straight misses and a pair of turnovers. The Bulls led 77-71 going into the fourth quarter and then began celebrating.

It came with a nimble beginning to the quarter, Portis and LaVine threes, and then the big moment they'd all been joking about in practice all season. When was Denzel going to dunk one?

"I dunk in warmups, I dunk in practice," the 6-6 Valentine noted with a smile. "I just never did it in a game before; never presented itself. I had been thinking about it, especially because of getting back healthy. My ankle's feeling better. I've been thinking about dunking in a game."

It came with the Bulls taking the game, it seemed, an 89-75 lead with 9:27 left on a Portis putback. Mack drove in from the left side for a floater that floated only near the basket. Valentine grabbed it and began dribbling out of the backcourt. He kept running the middle in what is becoming an improved Bulls fast break with the wings spread out. Valentine passed to LaVine on the right wing near the sideline and kept going.

LaVine found Valentine still sprinting with a bounce pass into the lane. Valentine went up one handed; slam!

"Once I get my first one, then I'll start dunking more," Valentine said with a laugh. "More to come, for sure."

Valentine bent low after the dunk, his arms stretched wide like the famous Spruce Goose wide winged aircraft as he gliding back to the bench. Portis and David Nwaba eagerly greeted him as Orlando called time. The festive Bulls would get a pair of Valentine free throws after that for the 93-75 lead with 8:23 left.

"It was good to see him so ecstatic," said Portis. "He always does those dunks in practice; he said he's going to dunk on someone. We came back to the bench laughing and happy and thinking the game was over. But in the NBA you have to keep playing."

"I take some of the blame," said Valentine.

The Magic began taking aim and making several while the Bulls aim wasn't so good with four turnovers, some misses and, what the heck happened; they're leading?

It was Portis who matched the Magic lead both times when they went ahead 98-96 and 101-98 as he made a floater and that three. Not something he's done much.

"I don't think I was ever in that position to help close the game out," Portis offered.

Then there were a combined six misses and two turnovers between the teams until that inbounds play with 15.2 seconds left. Yes, there's a reason the teams were a combined 37-73 entering the game. And then Orlando had one more turnover, which was just enough to make the difference this time.

"It's usually been a layup, or free throws or a jump shot," LaVine said about end of game plays he's had. "Add a dunk to it, I guess. You have to get it done."

Zach LaVine is becoming a guy who finds a way.

bulls-make-orlando-disappear-105-101

Bulls make Orlando disappear, 105-101

It's games like Friday's Bulls 127-124 win over the Dallas Mavericks that give you a little peek into the team's brightening future with Kris Dunn all over making plays, Lauri Markkanen opening up the court with his shooting and throwing down followup dunks, a pair of young stars essentially just starting their careers. Add some supporting role players who have been routinely outplaying the opposition, and perhaps premier athlete Zach LaVine to return any day now.

The kids are getting there; they're becoming good enough to dream.

"Really good win coming down here," agreed Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. "This is a team that's been really hot, rolling."

Despite a 13-27 record, Dallas was coming in after wins over the Raptors and Thunder and losing at the buzzer to a Stephen Curry three. But the Bulls led by Dunn's career high 32 points along with nine assists and four steals knocked the Mavs off balance with a 20-7 start. And then after losing the lead in the third quarter, the Bulls rode the reserves back to a lead after trailing 88-80 to start the fourth quarter and got a flying followup slam dunk from Markkanen for a 107-102 lead with 2:50 left and a pull up three from Dunn with 2:15 remaining for a 110-104 lead. And then Dunn tormented Dennis Smith Jr. with a pull up three and jumper before finding Nikola Mirotic rolling for a score to make it 114-104 with 1:08 left in the game, most the the fans having departed by then.

They should have known better; the Bulls still are kids.

Justin Holiday had 23 points, Markkanen 16 and David Nwaba 13 to lead a reserve group with 42 points. Mirotic had 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls broke a three-game losing streak making 14 of 28 threes and shooting 56.4 percent.

"Lauri was awesome the first half, really all game," said Hoiberg. "They really started hugging him, staying attached and Kris was a beneficiary for that, stepping up and knocking down shots. His attack to the basket where he had some really, really good finishes was as good as it's been, really this year. Just a really good team win against a tough team, team that did the exact same thing to Golden State before Steph hit the three; they do that.

"Obviously," Hoiberg added, "we would like to close it better. When you have a 10-point lead with about a minute to go you have to find a way to get a couple of stops. We gambled on a steal, got a lane violation, just really stupid things. But it's win and we'll take it."

Oh yeah, that. The Bulls even with the short losing streak lately continue to play uplifting, exciting games. Perhaps some of the thrill of victory was muted Friday by the denoument, the Bulls playing like eight-year veterans for 47 minutes and then eighth graders for the last minute, unable to inbound, fouling off balance shooters, gambling for steals and giving up layups, fighting eachother for rebounds and losing them.

But as Shakespeare said, All's well that ends well. That's right; no one had to stay in Texas overnight.

It was a mostly terrific game for the Bulls, and perhaps another new beginning with the play of Dunn and the confident coaching of Hoiberg.

The best offenses in the game, particularly with teams like the Warriors and Rockets, aren't burdened by the nuisance sideline play calling that in recent years has diminished every sport, from charting basically every play in football to calling pitches from the dugout in baseball to basketball coaches signaling every play. It's become almost accepted with the acceleration of coaching salaries, some teams turning lead players into functional robots.

But credit to Hoiberg for showing trust and confidence in his young players, likely enhancing their development. It came, Hoiberg revealed after the game, pregame following two points for Dunn in Wednesday's loss to Toronto.

"I brought him in my office and I said listen: ‘I'm going to start giving you some added responsibility; you're becoming a guy who as you go, we go. I'm going to let you control the offense.' So he is not looking over his shoulder at me for play calls all the time. Start recognizing who to get the ball to: Justin's got it going, run a play for him.

"Tonight," said Hoiberg about the quick start, 11-0 overall for the game on fast break points and 34-28 lead after one quarter, "we had great flow early and we went to it and struck with it, started out the game eight for eight. Those are the things to get Kris to the next step to continue with his development, to go out there and recognize situations to where I am not barking out a play and we kind of slow down. We want to keep our pace, we want to keep our flow, and part of that is Kris Dunn taking that responsibility and running with it. I told him, ‘You can't have lapses in your play, especially on the defensive end.' Which against Toronto that was the disappointing thing to me. He didn't score the ball great, but he had a couple of possessions defensively that he just took off. These are the things that can't happen when you are the leader out there on the floor. So that's the next step with Kris and I thought tonight was a really good first step with that."

It's a great stride, both for Dunn and for Hoiberg, the latter mixing confidence in his players with accountability as Hoiberg also chided Dunn for that late defensive gamble that led to a three-point play for Dallas.

"He's continuing to grow and getting better," said Hoiberg. "We just have to take away some of those dumb plays."

There weren't many for the Bulls in running up that first quarter lead with Dunn pushing the ball and Markkanen making threes. Dallas tightened up on him afterward and Markkanen had just two points in the second half, but those were spectacular.

The Bulls reserves have been among the league's best with the return of Mirotic and Nwaba, though Nwaba's scoring decline lately has resulted in more individual play. It was so again to start the second quarter as the Mavs drove back into the game, trailing just 57-53 at halftime. Dallas took the lead in the third quarter with a 10-2 start to the second half compounded by one of those dry stretches of turnovers and quick shots for the Bulls. The Mavericks closed the third quarter scoring in their last eight possessions for an 88-80 lead after three quarters.

The Bulls weren't doing a very good job exploiting the Mavs playing small with three guards, too often failing to attack the mismatch of the small guard while the Mavs little guys kept the ball moving for easy scores. Though Dunn was out much of that time.

But then with Nwaba, Bobby Portis and Jerian Grant contributing, the Bulls opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 90-88 lead. From there, it was about those big plays the Bulls made. And the letdown narrowly avoided, mostly thanks to the clutch free throw shooting of Holiday. Holiday made a couple of defensive errors in that late mad, Mavs rush. But he made all eight of his free throws in the last minute—the Bulls made a season most 25 free throws with a near franchise record 47-point fourth quarter—to save the Bulls from an historically horrible loss.

"That's two in a row for Justin; had 26 against Toronto," noted Hoiberg. "Really got in a good rhythm and carried that over into tonight's game. He's shooting the ball with a lot of confidence right now. Justin, when he has the opportunity to shoot, he's stepping up and making big ones for us. He may go 12 minutes without touching the ball, but when he does, give him credit for being able to knock down shots."

The Mavericks last led 100-98 with 6:45 left on a second straight Dirk Nowitzki three. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle may have erred taking out Nowitzki then as he kept getting open. He never got back in. The Bulls scored seven straight climaxed by a Holiday three on a Dunn pass after a fake drive. That made it 105-100 Bulls with 4:08 left. Then it was Markkanen's big followup slam on the Nwaba miss and Dunn's three and drive to get to a minute left and ahead double digits, 114-104.

"I would say it's impressive if I didn't know who Kris Dunn was," said Holiday. "Kris made big plays all game. If you know Kris Dunn, you're like, that's what you expect from him."

And then that amazing, demoralizing, excruciating minute that began with Holiday fouling Wesley Matthews on an off balance three, Dunn missing the steal and leaving a four on five for a drive for a three-point play, Dunn getting himself trapped in the corner on an inbounds and bailed out by the officials, which would happen again as the Bulls appeared to get the benefit of two late calls. There was Dunn and Holiday retreating and allowing the Mavs to pick up the rolling ball at half court to save time, Mirotic throwing an inbounds right to Smith for a score, Mirotic and Markkanen colliding and losing a rebound that went out to Smith for a three, Mirotic with the lane violation on a Dunn free throw, Maxi Kieber running through everyone for 30 feet and a dunk. And then the Mavericks almost pulling off the highlight of the year with 2.6 seconds left, a full court pass from Smith to Kieber at the top of the key. The Bulls ran toward Kieber, who passed left to an open Yogi Ferrell. Almost deja vu all over again with a wrong mistake. It wasn't so much the heat, but almost the humility. His three to tie came up short.

What a coming out party that would have spoiled.

bulls-hang-on-to-win-against-the-mavericks-127-124

Bulls hang on to win against the Mavericks, 127-124

Bulls.com

The Bulls have a pretty sweet scoring ensemble these days, averaging more 110 points per game for the last month, which would rank them in the league's top five over an entire season. But they just don't yet have that great soloist, the player who can hit the highs and carry the group, like Toronto's DeMar DeRozan did Wednesday—and Bradley Beal and C.J. McCollum the previous two games—in the Raptors 124-115 victory over the Bulls.

The Bulls got 26 points from Justin Holiday, 22 points and 12 rebounds from Lauri Markkanen and 20 points from Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic, though, continued to have back issues and wore a wrap at times. They had 29 assists and made 13 three pointers, six for nine for Holiday, and were tied at 90 entering the fourth quarter in another appealing and competitive game.

And while Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg lamented sieve quality defense after the first quarter when the Bulls led 31-21, the Bulls too often have to do too much precisely right to succeed against teams with the NBA's individual elite.

"We have to be right all the time (to win)," acknowledged Holiday, who had those 26 points on just 10 shots, three times fouled shooting three pointers, a specialty of his. "We just didn't come out and play the way we were supposed to defensively after the first quarter. Falling asleep a little bit, got hit in the mouth tonight. Guys in the locker room were talking about we have to be better. We don't have to be perfect, but defensively we have to make sure we are doing everything right; can't just go out and think we are just going to outscore people. We're doing better than we were then, but we're still not where we need to be."

The Bulls dropped to 13-25 with their third consecutive loss. The Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference at 26-10, winners of 15 of their last 18. One big reason is DeRozan, who has moved into the MVP conversation this season with Toronto's exceptional play.

The Bulls have been more like a terrific relay team lately, handing off the scoring baton from game to game, sometimes Mirotic or Markkanen. Lately it has been Kris Dunn often. But the point guard had foul problems again, shooting one of six for two points with eight assists.

Though Mirotic had 20 points, many were late after the Raptors ran away to start the fourth quarter and were leading by a dozen points five minutes into the fourth and by 10 with 5:30 left. The Bulls then didn't get back into a single digit deficit until Holiday's three with 10 seconds left.

An obvious disparity, and uncharacteristic for the Bulls lately was their bench being outplayed. The Raptors got a career high 25 points and 13 rebounds from Delon Wright, who roughed up Bulls players on the boards with second shots. Undrafted 5-10 guard Fred Van Vleet had 13 points in 17 minutes driving through the Bulls like they were the I-Pass lane on his way back along I-90 to his native Rockford.

"I thought we played a great first quarter," said Hoiberg. "I thought we came out of the gate with great focus, great energy, defensive intensity; we were getting out in transition, we were sharing the ball. And then that all went away to start the second. We gave up 103 (points, at least 34 each quarter) after giving up a 21-point first quarter. The biggest thing we've talked about the last few days is coming out with a defensive edge. When we weren't scoring, especially at the start of that fourth, we just went to straight isolation basketball. That's not us. And they took advantage."

The Raptors even with fewer assists moved the ball exceptionally well, creating open shots and making 15 of 38 threes. The Bulls showed their developing offensive prowess by making so many tough shots against an active Raptors defense. The Bulls without that big time scorer they can count on regularly simply have to do so much more.

It's unfair to expect that quickly from Zach LaVine, but it sounds like he's getting close to a return.

Hoiberg said before the game LaVine would travel with the team to Dallas and Indiana later this week and then the management and staff would have a summit with LaVine early next week about his return.

Meanwhile, the Bulls remain much better, dedicated, passionate, capable of competing without being taken for granted. It was a game against one of the league's hottest teams with 20 lead changes and 10 ties.

"Obviously, even though we lost these (three) games, we are not playing like we were then," agreed Holiday. "We're not as bad as we were. That's on both ends. Even though we lost these games, we are in the games, teams are respecting us when they play us and we're fighting back. But sometimes we have lulls. Tonight the last three quarters, we did not play well defensively. We have to get it together to win games."

It was an encouraging beginning for the Bulls, especially Markkanen with his shooting stroke pure after the Bulls got the Raptors defense to retreat early going to Lopez. Markkanen also was on the boards, often the Bulls best rebounder lately.

"I take a lot of pride in rebounding," said Markkanen, leading the team at 7.6 per game. "The team with more rebounds usually wins; that's one thing I concentrate on to help the team. We started good, but then we relaxed a little and that can't happen."

The Bulls led 31-21 after one quarter, also with Valentine getting 14 points and seven rebounds becoming a steady contributor. But it was the reserves, who have been excellent in recent weeks, who were erratic and often selfish, too much one-one-one play with expansive dribbling and rushed shots late in the clock.

Toronto opened the second quarter with a 12-2 run and opened the fourth quarter—the quarters when Hoiberg goes to the bench—with a 16-4 run. If the game was decided anywhere, it was in those two stretches.

"A lot of that was our second unit," acknowledged Hoiberg. "I didn't think they shared the ball the way they had been. They've been excellent, playing with really good chemistry, but we did not have that with that group tonight."

The Bulls recovered to lead 59-56 at halftime as Dunn, though missing from the field, had slick passes, one for a Paul Zipser dunk to get the second quarter lead back. Valentine had a pair of driving scores and Mirotic found the range with a three. Dunn drew a fourth foul in the third quarter as the Bulls were building up an 80-71 lead only to see DeRozan hit the Bulls for 10 straight points, the strength of those special players. They carry teams for stretches on their own, giving others time to rest and recover their games. Still, the Bulls stayed stride for stride as a Holiday three tied the game at 90 after three quarters. DeRozan had 35 points with five of eight threes and 10 of 10 at the free throw line.

"We're tied going into the fourth," Hoiberg noted. "So the fourth quarter comes down to…you have to have your winning mentality. You have to go out and play the right way. You have a thin margin for error. They were the team that came out and threw the first blow and we never recovered."

Just too many sour notes this time from a band that must maintain its harmony.

bulls-fall-to-raptors-124-115-2

Bulls fall to Raptors, 124-115

It only takes one. The Bulls once had one. The Cavs do now. Golden State has three. The Indiana Pacers even have one, the closer, Victor Oladipo, who scored the Pacers last four points, six of their last 10, and 11 fourth quarter points and two steals in the last two minutes in the Pacers devastating—at least for the Bulls—98-96 victory.

The first time the Pacers led in the game Wednesday, which was mostly dominated by the Bulls, was with an Oladipo pull up three pointer with 31.1 seconds left after a steal from Denzel Valentine.

It was the Bulls 10th consecutive loss. They are 3-20. Indiana is 14-11.

The Bulls were led by Kris Dunn with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Robin Lopez had 16 points and Valentine 15. Bobby Portis had 12 points and Lauri Markkanen and David Nwaba 11 each, Nwaba with impressive second half hustle in helping the Bulls to an 83-69 lead going into the fourth quarter.

There’s plenty to scrutinize, analyze and explain in this kind of loss, half the Bulls free throws missed in the game, way too much isolation and dribbling at the end leading to that Valentine turnover, a fourth turnover in that stretch for Dunn, who otherwise played brilliantly, one for Justin Holiday when everyone kind of stood around seemingly watching to see if he’d make a turnover, a couple of wild shot attempts from Markkanen, essentially a how-to blueprint for a collapse in which the Bulls shot 28 percent in the fourth quarter (52 percent until then) and the starters one of 10 in the fourth with six team turnovers. 

“Our youth definitely showed in the fourth quarter with our defense, rebounding and shots,” said Valentine. “It hurts. They picked up the intensity defensively and offensively and we panicked a little bit. We stopped moving the ball and they were swarming to the ball and we weren’t getting back and talking through our coverages. We played a really good game, we just had a couple meltdowns in the fourth quarter.”

Most teams suffer such meltdowns at various times late in games. But they often are camouflaged by the presence of the so called closer, the team stress reducer. So then no one notices the Pacers’ Myles Turner’s unnecessary foul, or Thaddeus Young and Cory Joseph with big misses in the last minutes when one more basket for the Bulls might have clinched a victory.

The Bulls have one of those guys who can assume the responsibility; it’s just that he’s not going to be playing for about another month, Zach LaVine.

It’s not what coaches or players can talk about. You know, next man up. But just because you need someone to do something doesn’t mean he is capable. I’ve tried to explain that many times with a car that won’t work. Sure, they’re all professional basketball players. But other than Robin Lopez, hardly the go to scorer type with a career scoring average of 7.5 points, the Bulls really don’t have another player on the roster who has been an NBA starter. Holiday started more games in the G-league and Belgium than the NBA. Valentine and Dunn are trying to reverse rookie bust labels. Nwaba wrote tryout letters and is just hoping to stay in the NBA. These guys all did terrific things earlier in the game when the Bulls led 55-39 at halftime. They’ve had big moments in the season and gotten better. They’ll have NBA careers as a result. But they can make other plans all the All-Star weekends.

LaVine has been a starter, but he remains out, though progressing well, after February knee surgery. He’s a big time playmaker and shooter.  It’s much easier to draw a potential winning play for him. Remember when Bill Wennington got open for the winning basket in Michael Jordan’s 55-point return game in 1995 in Madison Square Garden?  Much easier to score when three guys are guarding one of your guys. Imagine Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant with those shots without Jordan. We recall Phil Jackson didn’t even want Pippen to take one. Nikola Mirotic has been a starter and has made big shots. He may play his first game for the Bulls Friday in Charlotte after his preseason incident with Bobby Portis.

There are great professionals who do wonderful things on the court and are vital to a team for success. Only the truly rare ones can produce the last chapter.

So this is how it went in the closing minutes after the Bulls had lost most of a 16-point fourth quarter lead and were ahead 94-92 with 2:43 left in the game. The Bulls had played one of their best games of the season in what would become their third loss in the last four games by two points or fewer. The signs were positive in a fast start, aggressive and active defense, ball movement and penetration, domination on inside scoring, a double digit rebounding edge through three quarters, no way anyone could believe this was a team that had lost 19 of 22 games this season.

The Bulls are doing as promised, not giving up on the season, accepting every disappointment  with disdain and coming back with more determination and effort. It’s a team playing hard, competing. Without the rewards, unfortunately.

“I thought we were playing great basketball,” said Dunn.

Dunn was a big part of that, now among the league leaders in steals and three-point shooting while averaging 16.4 points and 6.4 assists the last five games. Dunn took it on himself like he did in Denver last week, and he came through again. Dunn lined up Joseph on the left wing and then cut hard right past him and all the way for a layup score to give the Bulls a 96-92 lead with 2:29 left.

“Kris Dunn was terrific for the majority of the game tonight,” said Hoiberg. “We had good contributions from guys coming off the bench. The big message to our team is if we continue to play with that type of effort, if we continue to play the right way, play unselfish, we’re going to start winning games.”

Oladipo, who finished with 27 points and is 15th in the league in scoring, isn’t the point guard. He may be the league's Most Improved Player, however. And he took over that lead position at the close. He also led the Pacers in rebounding down the stretch.  Young drove and his finger roll was blocked by Lopez. But Young got it back as the Pacers dominated the Bulls on the boards in the fourth quarter. In one crucial earlier fourth quarter sequence, the Pacers collected four offensive rebounds on the same possession for a basket when the Bulls led by 11 points. It seemed always just one basket away.

The Pacers ran every play through or for Oladipo.

Then with 1:57 left and the Bulls still ahead 96-92, Turner committed an offense foul with Oladipo going in for a drive. Thus, another chance for the Bulls to probably end the game.

Dunn drove right and put up a short runner that fell short. The Pacer went to save the ball, but Dunn reacting quickly got it back. Dunn then drove into the middle into three Pacers and lost the ball. Credit Dunn for wanting to make those plays. But he hasn’t even been an NBA starter for a month.

Oladipo dribbled up full court and was fouled with 1:30 left. There were no shots. Joseph got a screen from Turner on the inbounds and made a nice jumper from the left elbow to bring Indiana within 96-94 with 1:18 left.

Dunn dribbled out of the backcourt. The Pacers were playing physically now, hitting and bumping cutters, holding, trapping, fourth quarter NBA stuff. No calls; play through it. The Bulls were going to Markkanen early in the season at the end of games. It’s a lot to ask of a 20-year-old rookie, and seemingly too much now as the games come fast with little relief. He drove left, but he could barely get lift or extension and his shot was blocked. It went off him. The kid looked exhausted, and with good reason.

Indiana ball with 1:06. Here comes Oladipo again. He got a screen as Holiday again shaded to his right like in the Denver game. Wide open lane again. But this time, Portis came over with a strong challenge. Oladipo shot too hard off the backcourt on his drive. Bulls ball and the lead with under a minute left. So maybe. They are mostly playing exciting games.

Again, Dunn came running out of the backcourt. He got a screen from Portis and drove, was cut off and passed out to Holiday who handed off to Valentine. Who started dribbling and driving right, three, four, five dribbles, a slip and then a turnover to Indiana. Oladipo grabbed it and he came rumbling down court.

“I was surveying the scene at first, just seeing who was back, how many people were back and nobody stopped me,” Oladipo related.

The Bulls have had a habit of failing to stop the ball in transition, getting back to avoid the drive.

“I could have kept going and drove into the defense or pulled up for the three, shoot the ball with confidence, and that’s what I did,” said Oladipo.

Oladipo’s three went in with 31.1 seconds left for the Pacers first lead of the game.

“They just kept grinding, fighting. You could see it,” said Dunn. “They were sticking to what they do and got stops when they needed them.”

But mainly Indiana put the ball in the hands of one guy every time they needed to, and just about every time down the floor. So when Turner or Young did stupid things no one much cared or remembered.

It would be 13-2 Indiana to close, the Bulls with one field goal in the last 7:14.

The Bulls came out of their last timeout to Dunn against full court pressure. Dunn got into the middle with the Bulls’ five starters on the floor. Dunn drove right, eschewing screens from Lopez and Markkanen. And almost got the lead. His 22 footer went halfway down and spun out. Oladipo got the rebound and dribbled away about six seconds before the Bulls fouled him. He made one of two free throws for the 98-96 Pacers lead with 12.8 seconds left.

The Pacers smothered Dunn on the inbounds, so Markkanen threw in to Valentine, who dribbled up slowly for some reason. He got a screen from Lopez, but dribbled left toward the sideline into a double team. Markkanen came circling out of the right corner with Lopez setting another screen for the pass. Markkanen took a dribble right and fired a line drive off the backboard as the game ended.

bulls-sputter-down-the-stretch-in-indiana

Bulls sputter down the stretch in Indiana

chiljimenez

The Bulls snapped a 4-game losing straight and gave their season a glimmer of hope with a 98-96 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

In a 4th quarter that featured both teams going ice cold, it was Jimmy Butler who stepped up to play the hero, hitting a 12-foot pullup jumper with three seconds left to break a tie and give the Bulls an important road win with 8 games left in the season.

The Bulls (37-37) made up a game on the Pacers (39-35) in the playoff race and took the season-series tiebreaker over the Pacers with the win.

Chicago was led by Nikola Mirotic with 28 points (20 in the first half) and 10 rebounds and Pau Gasol with a near triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, though he did have 7 turnovers on the night. Butler finished with 14 points on a relatively quiet night until the game-winner.

The Bulls, on the second night of a back-to-back, got off to a solid 12-6 start behind the starting lineup of Rose, Butler, Dunleavy, Gibson and Gasol, playing just their 6th game together. Gasol was involved and active early with a hand in the Bulls first five baskets, including his patented lob to Butler. However, the Pacers behind 9 points from Paul George and 8 points from Ian Mahinmi, got back into the game.  The Bulls finished the quarter up by a point.

The second quarter saw the Bulls bench continue to play well, including some timely buckets from Doug McDermott, who had successive banks to pour in some points. Nikola Mirotic was on fire throughout the half, as his 6-8 shooting with 5 threes lit up the Bankers Life Fieldhouse scoreboard. Mirotic scored 15 points in the period put the Bulls up 10, but the Pacers rallied with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 2 at halftime. Mirotic continued to pour int he points, hitting 5 threes and finishing the half with 20 points, more than he had in the last three games combined.

Throughout the first half, Rose seemed to be favoring his left arm, using only his right hand on passes and dribbling. He would finish with 8 points on 4-15 shooting.

The third quarter was problematic for the Bulls as they fell into bad habits of isolation basketball and contested fadeaway jumpers on offense and giving up offensive rebounds on the defensive end. The Pacers jumped all over the Bulls with a 9-0 run to stretch their lead out to 7 before E'Twaun Moore hit a three pointer to stop the bleeding. The Pacers continued to ride a 44-26 points in the paint advantage after 3 as they took a X point lead into the final quarter. Gasol finished the third flirting with a triple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, but 5 costly turnovers.

The Bulls continued their strong play into the early fourth with a deep Mirotic three giving the Bulls a 5 point lead and a 15-2 run of their own. With Gibson suffering a rib contusion and unable to return, Cristiano Felicio came in and made an immediate impact with 8 points and 5 rebounds in just 6 minutes.

After taking a 93-86 lead on a Felicio followup, the Bulls went ice cold and did not score apoint for nearly 6 full minutes. After Indiana rookie Myles Turner hit a pair of jumpers to give the Pacers a 94-93 lead with 5 minutes left, neither team was able to find the basket from there for another three minutes.

Mirotic finally broke the streak by hitting a three to tie the game at 96, but the teams exchanged an array of missed shots and turnovers down the stretch until Butler's game winner. Pacers forward C.J. Miles missed a long three at the buzzer to give the Bulls the win.

late-butler-jumper-gives-bulls-98-96-win

Late Butler jumper gives Bulls 98-96 win

childukich

The Bulls fought tooth and nail for 3 and a half quarters but ran out of gas in the final 5 minutes as the Warriors pulled out a hard-fought 106-94 victory in a game that was closer than the final score to continue their undefeated start and drop the Bulls’ record to 8-4.

The shorthanded Bulls, playing without Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks, were within 94-91 with 2 minutes left to play when a Draymond Green layup and two three pointers by Harrison Barnes ended the Bulls’ chances at Oracle Arena. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with another all-around effort, scoring 29 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, while Kirk Hinrich’s 17 points were the most he’d had in a game since October 2014.

The Bulls jumped out to a quick first quarter, with Hinrich scoring 9 points in the first six minutes and pestering the Warriors with two steals that led to fast breaks. Butler added 10 efficient points to lead Chicago to an 11 point lead, but the Warriors, as is their style, were able to score in bunches to bring the lead down to one at the end of the first.

The second quarter saw the Warriors get out to a bit of a run as the Bulls struggled to score, but Nikola Mirotic was able to make some timely baskets, finishing the half with 13. Curry was held relatively in check with 10 points in the half but the rest of the Warriors were able to hit open three pointers to keep the Warriors ahead. Only 4 Bulls scored in the first half – Butler and Mirotic with 13, Gasol with 12 and Hinrich with 9.

The 3rd quarter saw the game continue with back-and –forth action, with Jimmy Butler again carrying the load for the Bulls with 10 in the period on an array of shots from all over the floor. Klay Thompson started heating up and Curry scored 8 points, ending the quarter on a mini-run due to some costly turnovers and missed free throws from the Bulls. Joakim Noah continued to struggle on offense and committed three turnovers in the period.

The loss snapped a 4-game winning streak for the Bulls, who are back in action on Tuesday as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland. The Blazers defeated the Clippers on Friday night, snapping a 7-game losing streak.

bulls-drop-hard-fought-game-to-warriors-106-94

Bulls drop hard-fought game to Warriors 106-94

admin

Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points to lead the Bulls to a 111-80 victory over the New York Knicks Saturday night at the United Center. Pau Gasol added 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jimmy Butler had 18 points and five steals for Chicago, who improved to 45-29. The Knicks fell to 14-60 on the season.

The Bulls came out fast leading the Knicks 28-17 after the first quarter behind 11 points and six rebounds from Gasol.

Mirotic scored 11 points in the second quarter as the Bulls used a 26-10 points in the paint advantage to build a 54-34 lead at the intermission.

The Bulls did not let up in the second half, at one point leading by 36 points en route to the blowout victory.

Next, the Bulls travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks Wednesday night.

bulls-roll-past-knicks

Bulls roll past Knicks

The Bulls improved to 29-16 with a 102-98 victory over the Mavericks Friday night in Dallas.

The Mavericks closed within two with under thirty seconds go play, but Derrick Rose kept a possession alive tapping a loose ball to Kirk Hinrich to secure the victory.

The Bulls were led by Jimmy Butler's all-around game of 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Derrick Rose added 20 points and Pau Gasol followed a 17 rebound performance Thursday night vs. San Antonio with 16 rebounds Friday night in Dallas.

The Bulls came out strong leading 30-21 after the first quarter. Rose had a hot hand early connecting on five of six shots from the field including three from three point land in opening quarter.

The Bulls offense continued to hum early in the second quarter extending their lead to 43-32 before a Dallas run cut the Bulls lead to five midway through the quarter. Late in the quarter Dallas closed within one but the Bulls took a 54-51 lead into intermission led by Rose's 18 points.

The Mavericks tied the game twice in the third quarter but the Bulls answered back each time and closed the quarter with an 80-75 lead despite 16 turnovers to that point.

Notes:Joakim Noah returned to start for the Bulls after missing four games with an ankle injury. The Bulls never trailed and committed a season-high 24 turnovers in the victory. The Bulls held the 2nd highest scoring team in the league to ten points under their average.

bulls-lead-wire-to-wire-in-victory-over-dallas

Bulls lead wire-to-wire in victory over Dallas

none

Presented By

AT&T

<a title="Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now" href="https://www.nba.com/bulls/postseason">Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now!</a>