On the night of Oct. 22, the Chicago Bulls saw a couple of players steal the show in star shooting guard Zach LaVine and newly signed point guard Lonzo Ball. As he got to take on his former team in the Bulls’ home opener at the United Center heading into the weekend, Lonzo absolutely went off in an eventual double-digit win for Chicago over the New Orleans Pelicans.
An efficient night for almost every single Bulls player, in the starting unit and off the bench, helped get this win over the Pelicans on Oct. 22 specifically by the final score of 128-112. The Bulls changed the narrative as the offense didn’t really struggle at any point in this game. And the defense held solid enough in most facets to get the comfortable 16-point win over the Pelicans.
It was easy to say that LaVine was the highlight for the Bulls in this game. He had his second straight 30+ point night to start the season, helping to push his case to get an All-Star nod for consecutive years.
But it was Lonzo that actually had the truly historic night for the Bulls in a bright spotlight against his former team. Lonzo registered 17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, one block, and no turnovers. And he shot 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, and was perfect on two attempts from the free-throw line.
Lonzo Ball has huge outing for the Chicago Bulls in a win over the Pelicans
That helped to see Lonzo register an insane 170 offensive rating, 11.1 box plus/minus, 35.2 assist percentage, and a 71.5 true shooting percentage.
What made this game truly historic was the fact that Lonzo just registered a triple-double without any turnovers. And he did all of this while maintaining a truly effective defensive presence.
Thanks to his triple-double in this game, Lonzo became the first player in NBA history to do so with three different teams before the age of 24.
From @ESPNStatsInfo: Lonzo Ball is the first player in NBA history with a triple-double for 3 different franchises before turning 24 years old.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 23, 2021
There were a few other key numbers that Lonzo can boast following this historic performance. He is now one of two players in NBA history to register a triple-double with at least two steals, one block, and no turnovers, in a single game. The other to do so is the reigning NBA MVP and Denver Nuggets superstar big man Nikola Jokic.
To follow-up to that stat, Nikola Jokic and Lonzo Ball are the only 2 players to have a triple-double with at least 2 steals, 1 block, and no turnovers in one game before the age of 24 in NBA history.
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) October 23, 2021
And if you look at how efficient Lonzo was shooting from the field, this performance becomes even more impressive.
There are only five players in NBA history to have a game where they register a triple-double with at least three steals, no turnovers while shooting at least 50 percent from the field, and are perfect from the charity stripe. Lonzo joins company that also includes Hakeem Olajuwon, Pau Gasol, Sam Lacey, and Alvin Robertson, to do that in a single game.
Lonzo and the Bulls now hold a record of 2-0 following their two wins to start the regular season slate, which came over the Pelicans and Detroit Pistons. On the night of Oct. 23, the Bulls are set to face the Pistons in the back end of back-to-back games at home at the United Center. This will also be the second time in four days that the Bulls face the Pistons to begin the regular season.