The Chicago Bulls three game winning streak concluded with a 119-112 loss to the Golden State Warriors. It’s time to check out the one thing I liked and one thing I disliked about the game.
The Chicago Bulls three game winning streak snapped with their loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 17. It was their second, and last, matchup of the season with the defending champions. The Bulls lost the season series 0-2.
Fun Fact #1: The Bulls made 10 3-pointers in Wednesday’s game. This means they’ve made at least 10 3-pointers in 15 of their last 17 games. This includes a current streak of nine straight games, the longest in franchise history.
Fun fact #2: This is the 19th time in 22 games the Bulls have scored 100 points or more. The Bulls tallied a 14-8 record over those 22 games and went 1-2 in the games they scored less than 100 points. They scored 100 or more points eight times in their first 23 games.
(Bonus fun fact!)
Fun fact #3: Zach LaVine dunked the ball for the first time in the 2017-18 season against the Warriors.
First dunk of the season for @ZachLaVine! pic.twitter.com/VNpDApuH6Z
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 18, 2018
Dislike: Early third quarter efforts
Chicago Bulls built a 3-point halftime lead for themselves off their effort (22-9 advantage over the Warriors in second chance points and points off turnovers), carefulness with the ball (only five turnovers in the first half) and strong bench play.
It was discouraging to see them allow the Warriors to turn that 3-point lead into a 10-point deficit halfway through the third quarter.
It isn’t surprising, or much of an issue, that the Warriors outplayed the Bulls in the third quarter. They’re the best third quarter team in the league for a reason.
They have two of the best shooters in league history in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, a former MVP who’s become a force on the defensive end in Kevin Durant and the best defender in the league in Draymond Green (who didn’t play).
The way the Chicago Bulls allowed the Warriors to dominate them early in the third quarter is the issue.
The Warriors started the third quarter with a 28-6 run. Curry and Thompson shot a combined 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the opening seven minutes of the quarter. Again, this isn’t out of the ordinary. They’re the Splash Brothers for a reason.
Far too often these made 3-pointers were a result of the Chicago Bulls lazily defending the two guards. Bulls’ defenders closed out half-heartedly and easily lost track of the two sharpshooters even though neither of them did anything special from an off-ball movement perspective.
Quite the start to the 2nd half for @KlayThompson! 👌 pic.twitter.com/g3E9zw2TBc
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 18, 2018
It looked like the team lost focus and became disengaged until players from the bench re-funneled back into the game. There’s a good chance the starters were tired from the energy they used in the first half and the seven games in 13 days caught up with them.
However, lapses like these aren’t going to work against the best team in the league.
“We were trying to match them at their game,” said LaVine, according to a Jan. 18 article on the NBA’s official website. “As much as we tried, the fact is that team is best at it, the gold standard. You can’t play that game with them. You have to get some stops and we have to make some shots.”
Honorable mention: Kris Dunn out with a concussion. It’s isn’t good to hear about a player getting injured, regardless of the severity of the injury. Dunn has had an impressive bounce back sophomore season. Here’s to hoping he’ll continue to do so once he returns to the hardwood.
Like: The Bench
The Chicago Bulls bench was phenomenal. The Windy City franchise’s second unit outscored the Warriors bench 56-to-26.
They were spearheaded by the efficient scoring of Nikola Mirotic (24 points on 13 shots), as well as the solid contributions from Bobby Portis (12 points, four rebounds and four assists) David Nwaba (eight points, six rebounds and two steals) and Denzel Valentine (10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists).
“I thought Niko was terrific all game long,” said Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg, according to a Jan. 18 article on the NBA’s official website. “I thought he and Bobby (Portis with 12 points in 17 minutes) had terrific plays in their two-man game. Those two guys have played well together for the most part all year.”
The bench players were the main ones who turned the Chicago Bulls’ 10-point deficit with a minute-and-a-half left in the first quarter into a 2-point lead to end the quarter. They were responsible for the comeback attempt early in the fourth quarter and prevented the game from becoming an embarrassing showing.
Nwaba seemed to be the only player who provided resistance to Curry or Thompson.
Steph Curry shot 0-2 with 3 TOs in the 10:47 that David Nwaba guarded him in the 2nd half last night.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 18, 2018
On a night where every starter besides Robin Lopez struggled, the bench found ways to make the game close and interesting. Kudos to them.