Chicago Bulls: Ranking 5 best wins of the season so far

On Jan. 27, the Chicago Bulls managed to stave off an end to the month of January that would’ve been rather poor. In actuality, the end of the incredibly difficult January schedule for the Bulls was pretty good. Most anticipated that the Bulls would fall out of the playoff picture in the East completely in January, and that would eventually happen the month after.

The way that the Bulls were able to beat the Spurs was not the most impressive. But a win is a win for the Bulls this season, and they’ll take it where it counts. The defense from the Bulls was pretty solid throughout most of this game, unless the ball was in one Spurs player’s hands from the mid-range. Point guard Kris Dunn still had a game-high three steals and one block. Center Luke Kornet would add another steal and block.

This is definitely one that head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs wish they could have back. One free-throw, and the result might’ve differed. But shooting guard DeMar DeRozan couldn’t hit the shot that would matter most in this game. DeRozan was a huge breakthrough here with a game-high 36 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.

A true three-man effort would come back to bite the Spurs. Center Jakob Poltl, point guard Patty Mills, and DeRozan were about all that the Spurs could count on here. Poltl finished up with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks. Meanwhile, Mills had 25 points, two assists, and two steals off the bench.

But the Bulls were able to counter with 23 points from LaVine and 16 off the bench from fellow shooting guard Denzel Valentine. Every Bulls starter finished the game in double-figures scoring too.