Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma City Thunder: Game analysis of Butler vs. Westbrook

Even with all the off-the-court noise leading up to tip-off, the Chicago Bulls came into Wednesday’s road contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder seventh overall in the Eastern Conference, and then trashed the Thunder by 28.

It’s truly unbelievable with the amount of pressure seeming to mount with the Chicago Bulls.

But here we are, with the Bulls starting their six-game road trip being the hot topic in the news for all the wrong reasons. Let me just say, it seemed eerily too perfect of timing for ESPN to pick up this Bulls game tonight.

Pushing the drama aside, I knew tonight Jimmy Butler was set for a meeting with Russell Westbrook. Night in and night out, Butler guards the opponent’s best player. These are the games we live for!

Let’s see how the Bulls fared against the seventh-best team in the Western Conference.

First Quarter: Bulls led it, 21-20

The Bulls pushed the pace with some easy buckets in transition from Jimmy Butler and Jerian Grant.

The Thunder looked rusty from the field, which we’ll give credit to the Bulls defense. But simply put, OKC was not hitting shots.

The last three minutes of the quarter, Doris Burke and the rest of the ESPN were casually talking about all the Bulls drama. As much as it is a distraction to this team, the news and rumors aren’t going anywhere.  

And trust me, ESPN was all over it.

Cristiano Felicio heaved a buzzer-beater from inside the elbow area into the paint to give the Bulls a lead at the end of the first.

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/826992049169846275

I absolutely love what this guy brings to the floor night in and night out. Whether it’s a massive rebound and put-back dunk or a hard screen-and-role to the rim, Felicio plays with a lot of spirit and energy, which is something you just can’t coach.

After one quarter in the duel:

Jimmy Butler: 9 PTS, 3 REB

Russell Westbrook: 6 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST

Second Quarter: Bulls led at the half, 55-47

By now, everyone should know the scouting report on Felicio: when setting a ball screen, he’s rolling hard in the paint for the alley-oop.  

And it’s really fun to watch.

Newly-asserted starting point guard Jerian Grant came into this evening averaging five points per game this season and finished the first half with nine points. Grant played well in the first half and set the tone with his scoring and pace of play.

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/827002418009341953

The Bulls went to isolation with Butler against the smaller Victor Oladipo, which proved to be a mismatch. Jimmy is just so much bigger and stronger, and it was a matchup that favored Chicago heavily. Butler’s footwork was on display for the national stage to see.

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/826999765053247489

At the half, the Bulls shot 53.5 percent from the field, while holding the Thunder to just 38 percent shooting.

After one half in the duel:

Jimmy Butler: 18 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST

Russell Westbrook: 15 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST

Third Quarter: Bulls cruised to a 94-73 lead!

In their highest scoring quarter of the year, the Bulls came out strong right from the gates erupting for 39 points in the third quarter.

That is not a typo.

The Bulls were crushing the Thunder for the whole quarter. It was certainly enough to quite the usually-loud Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook tried to put his team on his back and go to work, doing anything he could do to chip away at the Bulls lead. The MVP candidate was aggressively attacking the rim trying to get fouled and sent to the line … or put someone on a poster.  

Luckily for Chicago, it didn’t amount to much of anything for the Thunder. Yes, Westbrook finished the third quarter with 27 points, but he was the only one contributing.

Nikola Mirotic hit a jump shot at end of the third quarter giving the Bulls the largest lead of the night at 25 points.

After three quarters in the duel:

Jimmy Butler: 28 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST

Russell Westbrook: 27 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST

Fourth Quarter: Holy hell! The Bulls win, 128-100!

Who the heck saw this coming? Chicago stealing one on the road in OKC?

Well, history told us that the Bulls had to win this game, the franchise history streak was riding on it…

Chicago did a lot of the little things right tonight: pushed the ball in transition, passed it well, resulting in many assists, and better yet, they shot it well from the field, finishing the game shooting 61 percent from the floor.

Oh… and one last thing:

Isaiah Canaan finally checked into a game.

Next: The Bulls are going on a (long) road trip, but how will it fare?

Good night, Bulls fans. Onto the next one!