Chicago Bulls: LaVine heats up for thrilling one-point win over Spurs

Shooting guards Zach LaVine and Denzel Valentine combined for 39 points and pushed the Chicago Bulls in a one-point win over the San Antonio Spurs.

When someone like Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen meets up against a legendary NBA head coach like Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, the result should go in favor of the latter. Boylen is a former assistant coach on Popovich’s staff with the Spurs. But the Spurs found so much success thanks to Pop, and not so much because of Boylen.

And since Boylen took over as the head coach of the Bulls in the post-Fred Hoiberg era in the Windy City, this team hasn’t found much of any consistent success. That rang true since the Bulls Jan. 27 win over the Spurs by the final score of 110-109 was one of the best of the 2019-20 regular season so far.

The Bulls entered this game against their head coach’s former mentor with a record of 18-30, just three games back from the Brooklyn Nets to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. And the Spurs were in a similar position as the Bulls in their playoff battle out in the Western Conference.

However, both the Spurs and Bulls had two of their best forwards out in this game. Veteran star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was out on Jan. 27, as was Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen. The Bulls were also still without rookie big man Daniel Gafford and second-year center Wendell Carter Jr. against the Spurs.

With Aldridge out, shooting guard DeMar DeRozan had a lot of the pressure to run the Spurs offense placed squarely on his shoulders. But he thrived in this individual spotlight by finishing out with 36 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 14-of-17 from the charity stripe. DeRozan also added

Point guard Patty Mills gave the Spurs a huge effort off the bench, as he rounded out with 25 points, two assists, and two steals. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and a very reliable 6-of-12 from three-point land.

The Bulls came up with a well-rounded effort in the second half. Shooting guard Zach LaVine finished up with 23 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. LaVine shot an inefficient 7-of-22 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. But he heated up down the stretch and helped the Bulls get over the Spurs hump with the elusive one-point victory.

Off the bench, the Bulls got a similar boost to what the Spurs got from Mills from fourth-year shooting guard Denzel Valentine. He posted 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

The two starting big men for the Bulls also came up with good performances against the Spurs. Center Luke Kornet and power forward Thaddeus Young combined for 25 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. They helped push the Bulls past the Spurs while center Jakob Poltl finished with a solid 16 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks.

With the win, the Bulls are now just two games out of a playoff spot in the East. They sit with a record of 19-30 heading into a decisive Central Division showdown against the Indiana Pacers in the anticipated return of star shooting guard Victor Oladipo.