At Capital One Arena Wednesday night, Chicago Bulls point guard Tomas Satoransky had a bit of a revenge game in a 110-109 overtime win over his former team the Washington Wizards.
Let’s take a look at some of the sights and sounds from the Chicago Bulls-Washington Wizards game.
Emotions were high during the game for a legitimate reason. It was a bit of a homecoming for Bulls point guard Tomas Satoransky as he returned to the Capital One Arena for the first time since the sign-and-trade deal that sent him to Chicago. During the game, the Wizards showed Satoransky some love for what he did for the organization.
Take a look:
Tomas Satoransky tribute video: pic.twitter.com/IHcJJx8hla
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 19, 2019
In addition, the head coach of the Wizards took time to share some kind words about Satoransky.
Scott Brooks on Tomas Satoransky: "I’m happy for him. He’s one of those glue guys that is gonna play hard every night. He’s not gonna be a 20-point scorer, but he makes winning plays."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 18, 2019
In other developments, Bulls point guard Kris Dunn started his 11th game for the team during the 2019-20 season. It’s clear that he continues to flourish in his role.
Dunn is not done.
After losing the starting point guard job to Satoransky, some questioned if Dunn has much of a future with the Bulls. At the season’s end, he will become a free agent.
This is seemingly having little to no effect on Dunn. He’s playing some of his best basketball, and he’s among the league’s best at forcing steals.
Several took to NBA Twitter during the game expressing sentiments of praise for Dunn and what he’s doing.
Kris Dunn has made his last 3 3-point attempts
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 19, 2019
As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago pointed out, Dunn is doing his best to keep the opposing team’s defense honest. It’s no secret that he struggles to shoot from distance. Lately, Dunn has been spotting up nicely completing three-point shots when the moment calls for it.
Also contributing to the buzz was Pete Medhurst of 106.7 The Fan.
Loved Kris Dunn at Providence. Big run by Bulls. Washington has run some gruesome half court possessions in last 5 minutes.
— PeteOnSports (@PeteMedhurst) December 19, 2019
As Medhurst noted, Dunn is making a name for himself in the league as a defensive force just as he had at Providence College years ago.
The game tipped off shortly after 6 p.m. CST. It wasn’t a pretty performance, but the Bulls managed to win anyway.
The Wizards led by as many as 18 points. The team had a hot hand from behind the three-point line. Wizards guard Bradley Beal didn’t have the best night, but he was credited with 7 assists by the game’s end.
As for the Bulls, big man Lauri Markkanen was consistently aggressive during the game, taking the ball to the hoop and shooting from deep. He didn’t let early foul trouble take his head out of the game. Markkanen tied a season-high scoring 17 points through the first half.
As the game progressed, the momentum started to shift.
The Wizards made a number of costly mistakes to the benefit of the Bulls. It also didn’t help with the way the team relied on small lineups allowing for little to no rim protection.
The Bulls held a size advantage in most, if not all, matchups. Realizing this, the Bulls big men virtually had their way with liberty. Points in the paint seemingly made the difference in the game. The Bulls topped the Wizards 46-28 in that regard.
To the Wizards’ credit, Beal and big man Davis Bertans provided problems for the Bulls almost all night long. At the same time, Markkanen all but faded into the background as he’s done many times before during this season.
https://twitter.com/NBCSBulls/status/1207484880000557056
Although he had a quiet first half scoring only 6 points, Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine displayed great decision-making late in the game heading into overtime. He scored when the team needed it down the stretch, and he made plays for others.
Zach LaVine drops it off to Wendell Carter Jr. to put Chicago ahead for good!
— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2019
Final in OT:@chicagobulls 110@WashWizards 109 pic.twitter.com/POo3cGg2j5
As the final scoreboard read, the Bulls beat the Wizards 110-109. Both LaVine and Markkanen shined during the game, which is one of the keys to the win on the road. LaVine put up 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Markkanen finished the game with 31 points and 9 rebounds.
Next up, the Bulls are heading to Detroit to play the Pistons. The game starts Saturday at 6 p.m. CST.