Bulls take out their frustrations on Pacers for massive victory |
CHICAGO — While most fans have packed it in for the Chicago Bulls (35-38) this season, barring an epic collapse, this team will have at least one playoff game this season. For the most part, this team has struggled to find consistency all season long, but despite that, they still have an opportunity to reach the .500 mark and possibly even over .500 by season's end.
That may not get fans excited, but this was a team that was once 11 games under .500 and has had to deal with plenty of season-ending injuries, which is worth noting. That goes to show that there is still plenty of talent on this team, and they can beat anyone if they can put it all together at the right time. Coming off a brutal loss against the Washington Wizards on Monday, the Bulls had a chance to rebound against the Indiana Pacers (41-33) as they came to the United Center on Wednesday. Indiana is one of those teams that has shown the ability to beat anyone, but their lack of defensive ability has hindered them and has them on the play-in line also. These are the kind of games where you look at the matchup on paper and immediately lose confidence in the Bulls ability to get the job done. Well, that is why you don't play games on paper as the Bulls came out, sent a message, and took their frustrations out from Monday as they knocked off the Pacers 125-99. Apart from the third quarter, in which the Pacers outscored the Bulls 31-23, Chicago dominated things from start to finish, but this game was ultimately decided in the second and fourth quarters. After holding a narrow 27-23 lead after one, Chicago exploded in the second quarter and nearly doubled the Pacers 37-20 to open a 21-point halftime lead. After watching the Pacers close to within 13 after their big third, the Bulls put the game away down the stretch. They outscored Indiana by 13 points in the final 12 minutes to secure one of their most impressive wins in a while. Any time you have a blowout win like this, it's nice to potentially give some of your starters some time off. Billy Donovan can't afford to do that right now, as he continues to ride his starters as long as he can. Demar DeRozan is one of those guys, as he continues to rank near the lead in minutes played. He added 38 minutes to that on Wednesday and finished with 27 points to lead the Bulls as their strong finish to the season continues. Joining him were five other double-digit scorers, including all five starters who reached that mark. Nikola Vucevic bounced back from a quiet two games with 22 points, while also adding 12 rebounds to post another double-double. Coby White continues to battle through some lingering hip pain that has affected his shot, but with 18 points he continues to show he will still produce when called upon. Alex Caruso (12 points) and Ayo Dosunmu (17 points) rounded out the starting lineup for the Bulls, as they had plenty of production across the board. Dosunmu is the one to take note of here as he opened the game with eight first quarter points before fading as the game went on. That didn't matter when you had the production from the Bulls entire roster as Andre Drummond rounded out the double-figure players with 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench to set the tone for the second unit. Drummond was one of four players to score off the bench with Torrey Craig picking up seven and Onuralp Bitim adding three. However, the story of the night was seeing Javonte Green return to the Bulls for the first time since April after the team failed to resign him this past offseason. Signed to a 10-day contract for now, Green clearly knows this Donovan offense as he went out and dropped five points off the bench. As you have seen most of the season, the Pacers only go as far as Tyrese Haliburton can take them. Chicago made sure he wouldn't beat them on this night as they held Haliburton to just 13 points and forced the others to beat them. For the most part, no one was able to beat them as Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers offense with 18 points. Anytime you go through a game with no 20-point scorers, you make life difficult for yourselves, and the Pacers weren't able to get much going on offensively. Credit the Bulls defense for that as they came out with a sense of intensity that they haven't shown much this season. Pascal Siakam added 14 points and eight rebounds to the starting lineup, with Myles Turner picking up 12. Those are two more players who tend to carve up the Bulls, so seeing their lack of production was huge for this team. Even with eight players scoring off the bench, TJ McConnell was the only one who made a consistent impact, as his 12 points led the second unit in a blowout loss for the Pacers.
CHARGE TAKE DOWN WINDY CITY IN OVERTIME
Like the Chicago Bulls, the Windy City Bulls are battling for a playoff spot, but their chances seem less likely by the day. After pulling to within one game of the final playoff spot, Windy City has picked a horrible time to struggle as they have now lost three straight games. That includes a tough 103-98 loss to the Cleveland Charge in Overtime. That puts them 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot with less than six games to go as their magic number to be eliminated is one.
This roster has undergone significant changes over the past month, including losing one of its best players, Quenton Jackson, to the Pacers. Bitim has now landed on the NBA roster, giving the Bulls good bench minutes. One player who remains a constant force for Windy City is Adama Sanogo, who continues to lead the way with 20 points and 14 boards. Of all the players on this roster, Sanogo deserves to be in Chicago right now, but it is only a matter of time before that happens.
Jalen Harris and Henri Drell added 17 and 15 points, respectively, to the Bulls' starting lineup, but it was Evan Gilyard's performance off the bench that stands out. Despite his struggles from downtown, Gilyard led the Bulls with 21 points and has stepped up his game over the past few weeks. Isaiah Mobley led the Charge with 23 points, with Hunt adding 20 points and 13 boards off the bench.
