Chicago Bulls drop opener to Washington Wizards, 85-81
It may have only been preseason, but it didn’t seem that way.
There was a playoff-like atmosphere at the United Center Monday night, as the Chicago Bulls began preseason play with an 85-81 loss to the Washington Wizards.
Derrick Rose got things going by scoring the first points of the night with a banked-in floater from the right side, but what really highlighted the start of the game was an altercation between Joakim Noah and Paul Pierce.
At the 8:57 mark of the first quarter, Jimmy Butler was driving on a fast break until being stopped by Pierce, who hit Butler near his neck. The foul would then be reviewed, only to end up a personal foul; however, at that same time as the referees’ review, Pierce had some words to say. Noah was there to respond, and Tom Thibodeau got in between the two before any real fighting could occur.
Aside from that, there were many positives to take away from the first quarter. Much like before, Rose carried his team to stay in the game. He accounted for nearly half of Chicago’s 21 first-quarter points at nine. As a whole, the starters—Rose, Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Noah and Pau Gasol—were able to hold down the fort, but things became more difficult once the bench entered the game.
It was a 16-16 tie for a couple of possessions in the latter end of the first period, but the Bulls took a four-point deficit for the last three minutes of the first after miscommunications from the bench. Despite that, rookie Doug McDermott proved his worth with his 11 first-half minutes.
McDermott’s first point in a Bulls uniform came off a free throw after a foul from Kris Humphries. He missed the second one, but he redeemed himself by making a technical free throw. His first field goal came off a Kirk Hinrich-assisted, right corner three; however, McDermott couldn’t do enough to get Chicago back into it.
Coach Tom Thibodeau got his starters back in before the first half came to a close, and it cut what was an eight-point deficit to a 44-45 deficit heading into halftime.
To start the third quarter, Thibodeau sent out a lineup of Hinrich, Butler, Dunleavy, Gibson and Gasol, allowing Rose and Noah to get extra rest. In fact, neither of them returned to the hardwood that night. That group mostly settled for jump shots—which got Chicago in a six-point deficit—but a pair of jumpers from Gasol got them going a bit.
The Bulls finally got back in front after a free throw from Butler at the two-minute mark of the third quarter. It didn’t last, though. Washington took back the lead soon afterward, heading into the fourth quarter with a 64-63 lead.
Tony Snell finally made an appearance in the final period—alongside Aaron Brooks, McDermott, Nikola Mirotić and Solomon Jones—but it was all about Mirotić. After showing some struggles in the first half, the rookie from Montenegro went all out, scoring 15 of his 17 total points. It helped the Bulls take a 73-71 lead, but Glen Rice Jr.’s 10 points in the last 5:24 of the game sealed the deal for the Wizards.
Behind Mirotić’s 17 points (5-9 FG, 3-5 3PT, 4-4 FT), Rose led the way for Chicago, with 11 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Dunleavy and Gibson also added 10 points apiece.
The Bulls, as a team allowed the Wizards to score 41.1 percent from the field, but held them to 26.7 percent from downtown. Offensively, they only shot 33.8 percent from the field, but managed to go 38.1 percent on threes. Chicago was also outrebounded 47-40. That could be due to the fact Noah sat out the entire second half, but the Bulls are still a capable rebounding team without him.
It’s clear there’s still work that needs to be done by Thibodeau and his players, but it’s only the start of preseason. And there were a lot of positives.
The Bulls will continue preseason play tomorrow night in Auburn Hills, Michigan to face the Detroit Pistons at 6:30 p.m. central.