First quarter
At various points, Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson made his presence felt when he was on the floor by disrupting shots.
As for the Bulls, they appeared to be on a mission to double Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram when he touched the ball.
Did it work? I think not.
Pelicans shooters Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick found a bit of rhythm when they rotated the ball to find the open man when Ingram faced doubles.
The Bulls’ defense was lacking at various points during the game, as did the offense in some ways.
The Pelicans made the Bulls pay.
How, you ask?
Butterfingers. Period.
Bulls big man Cristiano Felicio had a bad case of the Butterfingers at nearly every turn of the first quarter. He couldn’t seem to get a hold of the ball when his teammates turned to him, which led to some costly turnovers.
Still, the game remained close.
One key to the Bulls’ early success was forward Chandler Hutchison. He’s starting to get consistent minutes, and it shows on various levels.
Hutchison, who sometimes gets compared to former Bull Scottie Pippen, took to the open court for what I like to call a “space jam” in the closing minutes. In this instance, he took the ball nearly full court to the hole for an emphatic dunk. With moments like that, I don’t mind the Pippen-Hutchison comparisons. Beam me up, Scottie! Hutchison was aggressive at both ends of the floor and is showing signs of playing the way many hoped he would for being a former first-round draft prospect.
Still, the Bulls allowed the Pelicans to get off to a 32-25 lead to end the first quarter.