Chicago Bulls: Nikola Jokic overpowers hapless bigs for Nuggets

On the night of March 1, it was superstar big man Nikola Jokic and the middling Denver Nuggets that were able to top the shaky Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Bulls couldn’t take advantage of solid play from their bench at home on March 1, which led to another tough fourth quarter for this team.

First-year head coach Billy Donovan has to be tired of watching his team’s play wane the way it has down the stretch over the course of the last two games. Although the Bulls did face some very solid Western Conference competition in their last two games, there isn’t much of an excuse for folding like a tent the way they did at times.

While the Bulls did come into this game as slight underdogs, they definitely had a shot to win it at the outset of the fourth quarter. They won the second and third quarters in this game, but were outscored in the first and fourth by a margin of 16 points.

There’s a trend that the Bulls are building in the wrong direction in terms of the way they are starting and finishing games. And that is a direct reflection on the play of their starting five. The Bulls are getting better and more efficient play out of their bench at times by a mile than they are in the starting five.

How the Chicago Bulls lost to the Nuggets

It was a game-high 39 points from Jokic that powered the Nuggets to nab this win over the Bulls, by the final score of 118-112 at the United Center in Chicago. He got yet another double-double on this night. Jokic also registered 14 rebounds, nine assists, one steal, two blocks, and just one turnover. And he shot 17-of-28 from the field, 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

The supporting cast also showed up strong in the first and last quarters of the game for Jokic and the Nuggets. Forward Michael Porter Jr. played a good all-around game with 17 points, a whopping 15 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.

And standout guard Jamal Murray was good for the Nuggets. He shined down the stretch in the fourth quarter. For the complete game, Murray registered 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, no steals, and one block.

On the Bulls side, the bench played well and the starting backcourt gave them a spark at times. Second-year point guard Coby White was good for the Bulls in this game, with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three turnovers. White was a spark plug for the Bulls starters out of the gates in the second half.

The combination of White and star shooting guard Zach LaVine also went for 43 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists. They just needed to shoot a bit better from downtown.

What was problematic for the Bulls here was the play of their frontcourt rotation. Rookie forward Patrick Williams and veteran forward Thaddeus Young were forced to get minutes at the five at times in this game. Centers Luke Kornet and Wendell Carter Jr. just weren’t really able to get it done here.

WCJ needed more help than he received down low. He registered just eight points, three rebounds, two assists, no steals, and no blocks. The Bulls are going to need more out of their big men, and more support provided in the defensive schemes, when they face someone like Jokic.

The loss to the Nuggets moves the Bulls to a record of 15-18. They have now lost two games in a row, which came at the hands of the Nuggets on this night and the Phoenix Suns at home back on Feb. 26. They didn’t get to play in their last scheduled game against the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 28 due to COVID-19 related issues. Next up for the Bulls is a meeting on the road with the New Orleans Pelicans on March 3.