What I like and dislike from Chicago Bulls’ win versus the New York Knicks

The Chicago Bulls won a thrilling, double-OT game against the New York Knicks last night on “bring your mom to work day”. I wrote what I liked and disliked about the game.

Kudos to the Chicago Bulls for making their moms proud with a 122-119 double-overtime victory over the New York Knicks.

Fun fact #1: This is the Bulls’ first win without Nikola Mirotic in the lineup since their Nov. 17, 2017 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Fun fact #2: This is the 16th time in 19 games the Bulls have scored 100 points or more.

A lot happened in the 58 minutes of action last night. I came up with the one thing I did like and the one thing I didn’t like from the Bulls emphatic win.

Like: Lauri Markkanen

There’s a lot to like about how the Chicago Bulls played last night.

Their defensive play to start the game was ferocious. They forced five turnovers early in the game, which was valuable as it helped them get out to an early lead.

Denzel Valentine, Robin Lopez, Justin Holiday and David Nwaba all had solid and efficient showings.

The team closed out a tight game with a win, which is rare.

But, nobody deserves it more than the player of the game.

Markkanen was the best player on the court

He outplayed Kristaps Porzingis on his way to the best game of his young career; 10 rebounds, one block and one steal to go along with career-highs of 33 points and eight made three-pointers.

The latter number makes him the second seven-footer to make eight threes in a game, joining future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

He also tied Chris Duhon for the most threes made in a game by a Chicago Bulls rookie.

But, wait. There’s more!

(Side note: I hope Lauri learned a thing or two about Porzingis’ footwork and shoulder movement in the post after being schooled by it for a quarter. It’s an aspect of his game he ought to work on over the offseason.)

The Finnisher closed out the game with a pair of crucial free-throws and proved he has ice in his veins.

”For Lauri to come in on the big stage, the World’s Most Famous Arena, and hit eight 3s and play against arguably the best power forward in the league in Porzingis, play 46 minutes and hit those big free throws late, just tells you everything you need to know,” said Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg, according to a Jan. 10 ESPN article.

The late free-throws may have iced the game, but it’s clear what was the highlight of the night for Markkanen.

Lauri’s been sensational since the last time the Bulls played the Knicks on Dec. 29, 2017. He’s averaging 20.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field, 49.2 percent from beyond the arc and 94.7 percent from the line over his last eight games.

Markkanen is going to be a high-end player in the NBA for years to come. Games like last night makes tweets like the one below feel like an eternity ago.

Dislike: Kris Dunn down the stretch

I like Kris Dunn. His fearless style of play is fun to watch and he’s been a bright spot for the Chicago Bulls this season. It was hard to witness Bulls twitter talk down on him in the manner they did. But, it was warranted.

The 23-year-old out of Providence looked like the worst version of himself down the stretch of the game; erratic, made poor passes, didn’t make the right plays, forced bad shots and tried too hard to be the hero of the game.

Next: Should the Bulls trade any of their players?

After making his first two baskets of the game in the first quarter, Dunn went 1-for-15 from the field until he made the floater that put the Bulls up 118-116 in the second overtime.

“The mid-range, that’s my shot, and I kept getting to my spots,” said Dunn, according to a Jan. 10 ESPN article. “I liked the shot and it wasn’t falling, and the fact that the sky floater goes in is just like, all right, if that’s going to go in, then we’re going to have to accept it.”

Dunn’s attitude is admirable. He didn’t allow his poor shooting in the game to hurt his confidence.

However, he must play smarter because teams that close out games better than the Knicks did will take advantage of his errors. Hopefully last night serves as lesson he will learn from and become a better player because of it.