Chicago Bulls upset the Mavericks without Zach LaVine

Void of their best scorer against the Dallas Mavericks on March 2, the Chicago Bulls were able to best MVP contending guard Luka Doncic by a 2-point margin.

Any opposition the Chicago Bulls faced so far this season with a record of at least .500 or better clearly presented a problem. Head coach Jim Boylen had just one win on the season so far against teams with a .500 record or better. That win came over star forward Paul George, head coach Doc Rivers, and the Los Angeles Clippers back in December at home at the United Center.

However, the Bulls had what appeared to be a very difficult challenge looming when they took on superstar guard Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at home at the United Center on March 2. The Mavericks looked to be one of the better teams that Boylen and the Bulls would face in the final month and a half of the regular season.

Doncic and the Mavericks weren’t able to scare the Bulls into shying away from nabbing this win, despite missing the likes of shooting guard Zach LaVine and power forward Lauri Markkanen. LaVine missed this game with a quad injury and Markkanen is still dealing with a pelvic injury. But Markkanen does appear to be making progress in his recovery from this injury of late. He joined the G-League affiliate Windy City Bulls for some rehab practice on March 2.

But the Bulls needed a big night in the long-awaited return from small forward Otto Porter Jr. from the foot fracture and ankle injury. OPJ played in just nine games this season prior to making his return to the lineup against the Mavericks on Monday night. He was big in this game.

OPJ and center Wendell Carter Jr. both missed a lot of time of late due to injury, but they were both back in this game. Carter Jr. actually made his return to the lineup in the Feb. 29 road loss at Madison Square Garden at the hands of the New York Knicks by the final score of 125-115.

The boost the Bulls got from OPJ was much bigger than what they got from WCJ. OPJ finished 7-of-11 shooting from the field, which amounted to 18 points, three assists, one block, and one rebound. He gave the Bulls that true wing presence they’ve needed for most of the season.

Rookie point guard Coby White continued his hot scoring stretch of late. He finished the night with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, with five assists, six rebounds, and one steal. Point guard Ryan Arcidiacono joined White and OPJ as the three Bulls players that scored in double figures off the bench.

Getting this bench scoring was a much needed injection of offensive energy the Bulls were looking for a long time now. OPJ isn’t likely to come off the bench for long, but he was definitely more than effective in this win over the Mavericks.

Shooting guard Denzel Valentine got the start in this game. He had a really good night, finishing up with 17 points and four rebounds. Forward Thaddeus Young was big for the Bulls starting five too as he wound up with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Young did a little bit of everything for the Bulls tonight.

The Bulls did a great job with Doncic in this outing. He had 23 points on just 8-of-20 shooting from the field, five rebounds, nine assists, and four turnovers. All the offensive presence for the Mavericks in this game came from shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and small forward Dorian Finney-Smith. They combined for 44 points on 17-of-31 shooting from the field.

With the win over the Mavericks tonight, the Bulls moved their record to a still hopeless (in terms of competing for a playoff spot) 21-40 on the season. Next up the Bulls will face the D’Angelo Russell and the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 4. That will be a stretch where the Bulls will play two of three games away from the United Center.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks moved their record to 37-25 on the season. This marks a week in which the Mavericks will face a good amount of opponents from the Central Division. On March 8, the Mavericks will host the Indiana Pacers at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.