The Chicago Bulls traveled to New Orleans to take on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Not surprisingly, Davis was too much for the Bulls to handle.
Coming into the game against New Orleans, the Chicago Bulls hadn’t won consecutive games all season. Unfortunately for the Bulls, that wouldn’t change against the Pelicans.
The Bulls were coming off of a nice double-overtime win against the Knicks and were squaring up with a very beatable Pelicans team. The Bulls came out fairly solid on defense, but couldn’t get things going on offense.
Chicago held the Pelicans to under 30 points in each quarter but couldn’t manage to score more than 26 points in a quarter themselves.
Final score: Bulls 98, Pelicans 107
As far as individual performances go, there was a lot to like for the Bulls.
Ryan Arcidiacono had another extremely effective night off the bench, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes of action. “Arch” continues to prove that he’s a solid NBA player who can make a difference for this Bulls squad.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls in scoring despite an inefficient shooting night. LaVine finished the game with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on a rough 9-of-26 shooting from the field. The best part of Zach’s night was the way he took care of the ball. He’s turned the ball over a lot this season, but against New Orleans, LaVine only committed one turnover. If LaVine can manage to keep his turnovers down while posting 4 or 5 assist games, he’ll continue to earn that lucrative contract he signed in the summer.
Jabari Parker posted his first double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and adding 13 rebounds. Parker shot the ball well on 2-point field goals but struggled from 3-point land. He shot 7-of-14 from the field overall but 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Perhaps the most encouraging performance for the Bulls, though, came from Wendell Carter Jr. Carter scored 17 points and reeled in 11 boards. He also contributed on the defensive end, blocking 3 shots.
He's 19 year's old. @WendellCarter34 IS 19 YEARS OLD. pic.twitter.com/NhiIfwieRo
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 8, 2018
Unfortunately, the best individual performance of the night would come from Anthony Davis of the Pelicans. Davis was basically unstoppable, finishing with 32 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks while shooting an efficient 13-of-24 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
The Bulls simply didn’t have an answer for one of the best players in the NBA. That’s understandable, I guess.
Next up for the Bulls is a winnable game against a bad Cleveland Cavaliers team on Saturday, November 10.