The Bulls fall apart in the final three minutes, suffer embarrassing defeat

The Chicago Bulls put their fans through a heartbreaking fourth quarter as they let the New York Knicks claim their first win of the season. What happened?

If there was ever a game the Chicago Bulls needed to win to put some confidence back in the minds of their fans, tonight was that game. Unfortunately, the Bulls had a high-school-level meltdown in the final three minutes of the game and let the win slip through their fingertips.

After taking a 98-90 lead, the Knicks closed the game on a 15-0 run led by none other than former Bull Bobby Portis. He had revenge in his eyes from the moment he stepped on the court, finishing the game with 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point land. He also added 11 rebounds and had a plus/minus of +31 (+31!) in 30 minutes of action.

When Bobby’s splashing threes, talking trash to the opposing team’s bench and has the home crowd chanting his name, it’s over. That holds especially true when the opposing team is the team that traded him away.

Portis wasn’t the only impressive Knick, though. The 19-year-old rookie, RJ Barrett, played 40 minutes and put up 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. He was massive for New York.

With the exception of Wendell Carter Jr., the Bulls didn’t have many individual performances to be excited about.

WCJ had his best game of the young 2019-20 season, scoring 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks. If Bulls fans are looking for one positive thing to take away from a not-very-positive night, they should take a look at Carter’s game. He looks like he’s finally found his rhythm.

Zach LaVine was okay. He scored 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field but disappeared when the Bulls needed him most. He needs to be better than okay. Lauri Markkanen was fine. He scored 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and also disappeared when the team needed him most. He needs to be better than fine.

Otto Porter Jr. came out hot in the first quarter and looked like he was ready to have a bounce-back game. For the final three quarters, though, he was a non-factor. Something’s still not right with him.

Jim Boylen didn’t exactly coach a masterpiece. I wasn’t in love with his rotations. Coby White has already proven that he’s one of the best guys on the team, so he needs to play more than 16 minutes. That’s inexcusable – especially when Porter has been as bad as he’s been.

The Bulls are now starting to look like they haven’t turned the corner that most people thought they’d turned. They look like the same laughing stock they’ve been for the last two years.

The good news? Wendell Carter Jr. seems to understand.

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

For a team that talks about making the playoffs the way the Bulls do, they sure are playing like a lottery team. Playoff teams don’t let the Knicks go on 15-0 runs to close games. Playoff teams don’t go stagnant on offense for minutes on end when the team needs a bucket. Playoff teams don’t let Bobby Portis and a rookie torch them all night long. That was the most embarrassing loss the Bulls have had since the 56-point thrashing against Boston in 2018.

Let’s turn to Zach LaVine for his spot-on analysis:

Could the Bulls still make the playoffs? Absolutely. There’s no need to overreact – the season is still young. But something needs to change. There needs to be a shift in mentality in the Bulls’ locker room. They can’t go into games thinking they’ve already won. They haven’t earned that luxury yet.

The Bulls have done a whole lot of talking the talk, but it’s time for them to walk the walk.