Chicago Bulls: Kris Dunn Plays Great in First Game Back From Injury

Looking to put what happened Saturday night and what spilled into Sunday afternoon behind them, the Chicago Bulls looked whole again – even if it was just for one half.  The much improved Sacramento Kings came into town and gave them their 13th loss in their last 15 games.

In their first game back from their respective injuries, Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis combined for 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists in limited minutes.  It was great to see both players take the court again as this Chicago Bulls team needed the much needed jolt as of late.

Kris Dunn played a little bit better than Portis as he shot more efficiently from the field.  Both players impacted the game in their own unique way. Portis pulled down 8 rebounds and knocked in a three-pointer whereas Dunn dished out 6 assists and played tight defense on the Sacramento Kings’ backcourt duo of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.

All was going well for the Bulls in the first half as De’Aaron Fox (0-of-5) and Buddy Hield (1-of-6) combined for only five points in the first half. Then, the third quarter happened.

Fox and Hield  flipped the switch as both of their play was outstanding, especially Fox as he went on a scoring spree in the third going for 15 points. Getting outscored 36 to 18 in the 3rd quarter, the Bulls saw their lead from earlier slip away in a blink of an eye.

It was tale of two halves for both teams. It seemed as if the Bulls lost all hope after what Fox did to them in the third. Turning the ball over way too many times for me to keep count (they finished with 27), Jim Boylen emptied his bench with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter.  Zach LaVine – who shot perfect from the field in the first half for a total of 12 points – only scored 7 points rest of the way.  Lauri Markkanen had a hard time finding his shot as he only made one 3-point shot out of 8 attempts.

Player of the Game: Point Guard | Kris Dunn

In his first action since October 22nd, Kris Dunn says he felt good to be back out there and play with his teammates.  Although he played in just 20 minutes and came off the bench, Kris Dunn impressed with his play tonight. Shooting 3-of-5 from the field, he finished the game with 9 points to go along with 3 rebounds.

Ryan Arcidiacano’s time as starting point guard will be soon coming to an end.  Don’t get me wrong, Arci has done a spectacular job filling in at the Point Guard position while Kris has been out, but his role will diminish to that of a backup role behind Kris come Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Coach Jim Boylen will continue to ease Dunn and Portis back into the offense.  I would not be surprised if both come off the bench again and see an uptick in their minutes next time the Bulls take the court in Mexico City when they take on the Orlando Magic Thursday night.