It was much closer than most likely anticipated, but the Chicago Bulls got it done upon the return of second-year head coach Billy Donovan to the bench out of the league’s health and safety protocol on the night of Jan. 3. Donovan and the Bulls took down an otherwise struggling Orlando Magic team under head coach Jamahl Mosley that put up a bigger fight than expected.
This is a Magic team that is missing a lot of key players. But they’ve shown a lot of fight during their now six-game losing streak. and that was on full display in this Jan. 3 meeting with the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago.
A big night from Coby White off the bench helps the Chicago Bulls stave off an upset bid from the Magic on Jan. 3
On this night, the Bulls were looking to extend their season-best winning streak to eight games. In their last game, the Bulls took down the Washington Wizards on a game-winning buzzer-beating three-pointer from star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. That was the second game in a set of back-to-backs that DeRozan hit a game-winning buzzer-beating three-pointer for the Bulls.
The first came in a win on the road over the division foe Indiana Pacers on Dec. 31.
It was another closeout win for the Bulls late in the fourth quarter thanks to the efforts of star shooting guard Zach LaVine and DeRozan. While there were some struggles in this game from the charity stripe for DeRozan, he was still able to help the Bulls seal up the win by the final score of 102-98.
Here’s a look into two studs and one dud from the Bulls’ close four-point win over the Magic on Jan. 3.
Studs from Chicago Bulls close win over the Magic: Nikola Vucevic
The first stud up on the list definitely wasn’t an easy choice here for the Bulls. Each star in the Bulls’ big three did come through providing value in their own way to get this closer than expected win over the Magic. But each also had their own flaws in this game. DeRozan was having issues at the free-throw line.
He also had a costly turnover where he tried to take on a double-team by himself late in this game.
LaVine was cold shooting from the field throughout much of this game. And he turned the ball over too many times trying to do too much himself.
And even star center Nikola Vucevic didn’t have his best night shooting from the field. But there were enough other areas in this game where Vucevic provided value for him to get the nod as the first stud up on this list.
Vucevic gave the Bulls 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He also came up with a game-high 17 rebounds (two of which were offensive boards), one assist, two steals, two blocks, and two turnovers.
There were many important contributions that Vucevic provided the Bulls late in this game that are easy to gloss over. He had a key block late in this game that was nearly called a blocking foul on Terrence Ross. Two incredibly important rebounds were also Vucevic’s for the taking late in this game, including one on the offensive glass.
All in all, when Vucevic is helping to turn the tide of momentum in this many other ways besides scoring production for the Bulls, he’s still getting the job done in some regard.
The lone Chicago Bulls dud from this close win over the Magic: Lonzo Ball
Was I expecting the two-way point guard Lonzo Ball to be perfect in his first game back out of a five-game stint in the league’s health and safety protocol?
No, that is absolutely not realistic right away.
I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if he came out with an efficient and productive effort in his first night back with the Bulls out of the health and safety protocol. More likely than not, though, it will take some time for Lonzo to get his rhythm back.
Mind you it was roughly two weeks since Lonzo last played in a game for the Bulls and he is definitely a rhythm shooter that lives beyond the arc. Off-nights like this upon a return to the rotation for Lonzo are going to happen.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to not put Lonzo in the dud spot on this list when you look at his stat line for the night. He came up with just three points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field, 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, and he had no attempts from the free-throw line.
But Lonzo did give the Bulls a healthy seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals, one block, and just one turnover. That helped Lonzo still remain a +3 on the night. Lonzo still did a lot of what he does best for the Bulls in this game. It’s still good to see him contributing in other ways when his shot is off from the field and from beyond the arc.
Studs from Chicago Bulls close win over the Magic: Coby White
The play of third-year point guard Coby White of late is nothing short of ultra-impressive. The former North Carolina Tar Heel put on a show for the Bulls while Lonzo was in the health and safety protocol. That’s where Coby reassumed a spot in the Bulls starting unit for the first time since late last season.
And he thrived in filling the void of Lonzo during his absence in the last couple of weeks.
But this night was the one where Coby was moved back to the second unit with Lonzo returning to the rotation. Yet, that didn’t stop Coby from remaining hot for the Bulls, especially on the offensive end of the floor.
Coby came up with maybe the most efficient night offensively of any Bulls player, whether it be in the starting unit or coming off the bench. He gave the Bulls 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Coby also came up with two rebounds, two assists, no steals, one block, and just one turnover.
These efforts saw Coby as a +3 in his first game coming off the bench for the Bulls in more than one week. If he continues to produce around the level he has lately, then Coby will be one of the most valuable reserve guards in the Eastern Conference. He’s playing great basketball of late that is coming on both ends of the floor.