A History of the TNT Bulls

Game 14: The TNT Bulls will transform you

Basketball-Reference box score.

Like I said, we’re moving into a new phase of our story. Before this time, the TNT magic allowed the Bulls to do incredible, record-breaking things that helped propel them to victory. While that won’t entirely vanish from here on out, it appears less frequently than something else: bringing out the absolute worst in the other team.

The Bulls scored only 83 points in this game, their second-lowest point total of the entire season. Nonetheless, they still won by three. They gave the Los Angeles Clippers plenty of chances as well. After All-Star forward Blake Griffin was ejected by a Flagrant II foul call, it looked as if the win was all sewn up for Chicago. Never a team to make it that easy on themselves, the Bulls quickly began to blow the 16-point lead that they had built up over the course of the game.

Rose played some more hero-ball down the stretch, scoring nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. He helped to put the Bulls up by six with less than a minute to go, but Wesley Johnson answered with a 3-pointer that cut the lead to three. After a Butler miss, Chris Paul had the chance to send it to overtime, but his 3-pointer hit the rim and missed the mark. I’d like to think the ghost of Ted Turner looked down and altered the shot himself.

Gasol led Chicago with 24 points, Butler was next in line with 14. The Clippers had won five straight games in Chicago, and the Bulls were coming off a three-game losing streak of their own. If the TNT Bulls love anything on this Earth, it’s ending streaks.