Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine’s offensive surge devastates Thunder

A huge outburst from the Chicago Bulls 25-year-old star shooting guard and first-time All-Star selection Zach LaVine helped give this team a way to build a two-game winning streak at home at the United Center on the night of March 16. LaVine had his best game of the month so far as he registered a game-high 40 points to push the Bulls to a dominant 123-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and rising star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

First-year head coach Billy Donovan got to face his former team at home to try and get revenge on the Bulls collapse of a loss where they coughed up a lead of more than 20 points in the second half back on Jan. 15. The Bulls got off to another hot start in this game, but never looked back like they did in their Jan. 15 overtime loss to this same Thunder team.

LaVine and the Bulls were able to top SGA and the Thunder by more than 20 points this time around thanks to the veteran lineup changes enacted by Donovan last weekend. He first made the adjustments to his starting five when the Bulls topped the Toronto Raptors at home back on March 14, by a margin of also more than 20 points.

Chicago Bulls get a spark from their top players vs. Thunder

To go along with his 40 points in this win over the Thunder, LaVine registered four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and just one turnover. And he shot a very efficient 15-of-20 from the field, 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.

This was also one of the most efficient games that LaVine has played this season, if not the most overall to date.

There was also a nice night that the Bulls got from fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen. On this night, Markkanen registered 22 points, five rebounds, one assist, and two blocks. And he shot 7-of-14 from the field, 3-of-9 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Markkanen continued his hot stretch of play since returning from a shoulder injury post-All-Star Break. That’s a good sign that the Bulls are finding more success in the win column while Markkanen is playing well for them.

Furthermore, this was another win that the Bulls got with a complete team effort. Second-year point guard Coby White didn’t have a very good night off the bench, with just four points in 28 minutes played. But third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and small forward Otto Porter Jr. had a nice night, each shooting at least 50 percent from the field and posting 17 points combined.

Beating the Thunder in the turnover battle, getting eight more assists, and shooting roughly five percent better from the field allowed the Bulls to get the win at home on March 16. This was one of the better of the Bulls 18 wins on the season thus far.

After beating the Thunder on March 16, the Bulls now sport a record of 18-20 on the season. They’ve now won two games in a row, over the Raptors and Thunder, heading into a key meeting with the San Antonio Spurs at home in the back end of back-to-back games on March 17.