Chicago Bulls at Portland Trail Blazers: Four Takeaways, Butler Shines

Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
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It was a monster win for the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night as they took down Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers, 113-88. The Bulls are 7-4 for the season now after tonight’s commanding victory.

Next: Bulls Good,Bad, Ugly: Week 3

The Bulls came to play on Tuesday.

In what Fred Hoiberg called the Bulls’ most complete game of the season, the Bulls grabbed a decisive win in Portland against the Trail Blazers. While it was never a particular close game, the entertainment factor was up there, with Jerian Grant steals and Jimmy Butler dunks to spare.

The Bulls started off at a lightning fast pace, running up an 8-point lead on the Blazers before the game was two minutes old. It never got better for Portland either, as Damian Lillard’s squad had one of their worst shooting nights of the season and missed the reliability of starting power forward Al-Farouq Aminu. Rajon Rondo and Doug McDermott also sat this one out with injuries.

Tuesday’s game was the first of the annual circus trip for the Bulls, the road trip that the Bulls take every fall while the circus occupies the United Center (Fred Hoiberg said on Monday that this would be the last circus trip).

Before tonight’s game, Blazers came in ninth in FanSided’s power rankings, while the Bulls took tenth. It’s safe to say that the Blazers were not playing like the ninth best team in the league tonight.

Let’s take a look at the four biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s win.