The Bulls picked up a much-needed road victory over the Pistons 119-107, moving them (somehow) to within one game of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Here's some observations:
Feast or Famine: The 2019 Bulls story
Seriously, if there was to be a 30-for-30 made about this team (please no), ‘Feast or Famine’ would have to be the tagline. Tonight, the performances of Lauri Markkanen and Coby White perfectly encapsulated the concept.
Markkanen, currently in the midst of a hot-shooting stretch, started slow in this one. He tallied only two points and one rebound in the first half on 1-for-5 shooting (0-for-2 from 3-point range). And perhaps most alarmingly, he only played 13:05 minutes in the game’s first two quarters, sitting from the 3:53 mark of the first to the 4:58 mark of the second. This, after his 31-point, 9-rebound game in Washington D.C. earlier this week.
He awoke in the third, though, racking up seven points and two blocks (!) on a series of exciting sequences:
More of this, please.
Stream the second half: https://t.co/8WhXO12Awb pic.twitter.com/gHWanB3vtE
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 22, 2019
Markkanen finished the night with 15 points and 7 rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting in 28:42 minutes of playing time.
White’s night was a tad more parabolic. He hit two of his first three shots in the first quarter, then committed two fairly careless turnovers in the second (after which he was pulled until the halftime break). Then, he canned three 3-pointers in the third en route to 14 second-half points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Coby's heating up. Just thought you'd like to know. pic.twitter.com/rrjIxi4v7r
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 22, 2019
He finished the night with 19 points. It’s a much-needed offensive outing for White, who had been averaging 6.8 points on 29.3% shooting from the floor in the month of December. He was 5-for-7 from 3-point range tonight after shooting 2-for-21 on long-range looks in his last six games.
Bulls held their own on the glass
You can’t keep Andre Drummond down forever. He finished the night with 19 points, 14 rebounds five steals, three assists and two blocks, but most of that came early. After starting the game with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter, he tallied only seven points on 3-for-12 shooting the rest of the way.
As a team, the Bulls outrebounded Detroit by a convincing 46-29 margin. Wendell Carter Jr. had 12 points and 12 boards (four offensive), Daniel Gafford had two emphatic blocks, and down the stretch, it was the Bulls securing loose balls off the rim (five fourth quarter offensive rebounds) and generating demoralizing second-chance looks (seven fourth quarter second-chance points).
Even Tomas Satoransky chipped in eight rebounds (along with 16 points and five assists). Yes, the Pistons had tired legs, but the Bulls improving in this area is undoubtedly encouraging.
Even short-handed, Pistons hung around
The Pistons played a terrific first half, scoring 59 points, shooting 51.2% from the field (7-for-16 from three) and generating eight steals (15 points off turnovers). Even without Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose, two of the team’s leading playmakers, they led the Bulls 59-53 at the break.
The Bulls heated up in the third quarter, shooting a blistering 14-for-18 from the field and 6-for-8 from deep, but the Pistons kept pace. Attribute most of that to a somewhat flukey sequence where Markieff Morris stroked two long 3-pointers in 9.6 seconds to shave a 10 point Bulls advantage down to four.
Still, the Pistons finished the night with 30 assists and shot 45.7% from three on 35 attempts. The Bulls were too much for them late, but it was an admirable performance for a short-handed team on the second night of a road-home back-to-back.
The Bulls looked the better team down the stretch
But the Bulls pulled away when it mattered most. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons shot only 7-for-19 from the field, committed five turnovers and faded fast on the interior. When the Bulls pulled away with a 12-3 run to go up 108-99, they never looked back.
It was Zach LaVine (who else?) that keyed the Bulls’ final run. He had a sublime offensive game, even if not the prolific, high-volume scoring performance he’s shown the capability of having this season. Through three quarters, he had 20 points on only 10 shots (shooting 6-for-10), but had four assists and had gotten to the free throw line 10 times.
He turned on the jets in the fourth, scoring 13 points and dazzling the Detroit crowd with a series of clutch long-range looks:
You heard what @Stacey21King said #BullsNation "Don't make Zach mad!"😤 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/B3H16xPaip
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 22, 2019
LaVine finished with probably the quietest 33 points he’ll score all season, but he did it efficiently (9-for-15 shooting, 5-for-7 from deep), collaboratively (five assists) and sustainably (14 free throw attempts). It was a performance that befitted a player of star quality.
And shoutout Kris Dunn, who racked up another four steals in this one.
Start of a turnaround?
It might not be time to jump to these kinds of conclusions yet, but with the win, the Bulls somehow find themselves only one game out of the eight seed in the East.
The team currently in the slot? The Orlando Magic, the Bulls’ opponent this coming Monday.
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December 22, 2019 at 12:11PM
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