The Bulls won a 129-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night at the United Center, which was as ridiculous as necessary.
Here are 14 observations:
1 Talk about going out through the gates with warmth. When Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy asked for a time of 2:50 to play in the first quarter, the Bulls had 34 points from 12 of 14 shots. 8 to 8 in the 3-point range.
At the end of the period, the hosts led by 44-34 – the fourth with the highest score this season and second largest first period in franchise history – with a line of fire from 16 to 19 from the field, 10 to 11 from the depths. This tied with a 3s franchise record made in the quarter. Hellish pitches, mostly from Zach LaVine, who led with 20 points.
two One would think that the Bulls would regress enormously from there. One would be wrong. In the interval, the Bulls had 58.5 / 53.8 / 80 points and a franchise record of 14 scoring 3s – although they lost 74-66.
But they came out of the torrid break, opening the fourth with a 19-2 run on their way to a goal advantage in the third 40-14 period. Entering the bedroom, the Bulls had a franchise record of 23 feats of 3 points (ending with 25). LaVine and White combined for 25 and seven points from 3 points in just those 12 minutes.
3 – Speaking of defense … It was the best performance of the season. LaVine and White combined for 76 points and 17 made 3s in the night, showing the great scoring potential that, as a pair, remained dormant this season. They are the first pair of teammates in NBA history to each make eight 3s in a game.
4 – LaVine’s 46 points – 27 at halftime, 37 in three quarters – mark his highest score of the season, the 11th game with at least 30 and the second with at least 40. A continuation of his growing All-Star affair.
5 30 of white – in three quarters – was equally essential, but for a different reason. He has dropped enormously since the 36-point mark, his career record, against the Sacramento Kings on January 6. Maybe a night like this – when he shot without abandon and looked good doing it – can get him out of it. His eight 3s (out of 17) are a career record.
6 Checking with the Pelicans: Zion Williamson won his, scoring 29 points out of 12 out of 18 shots.
7 But Patrick Williams, who opened the game on an equal footing with Williamson while Denzel Valentine checked Brandon Ingram, remained relatively solid, ending with 2 blocks, 2 steals and a handful of deflections and nudges (four fouls too).
8 Valentine scored a quick victory in favor of Garrett Temple at 10:36 in the first quarter. He checked back in the middle of the period, but with Temple still on the ground (Valentine’s defensive assignment changed to Josh Hart).
Temple started the second half and played 36 minutes against Valentine’s Day 22, although Valentine contributed 16 points and four 3s.
9 Temple made two of three three-point attempts, a welcome sign after he entered the game from 8 to 41 (19.5 percent) away in his last nine games.
10 Back to Pels. Lonzo Ball final line: 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The career record, 19 of those points, occurred in 17 minutes of the first half. He shot 4 to 10 from 3 and 5 to 5 from the free throw line
Ball is now shooting 52.2% of the depths in his last nine games. If it was an audition, it was a great one.
11 Luke Kornet had his first run in the trash of the season, with 4 minutes ahead of Cristiano Felício, who had been Donovan’s goal for the central minutes of the third streak in the current reduced injury rotation.
12 The result is a streak of four consecutive Pelicans victories and splashes some cold water in the Bulls’ 2-6 record in the last eight games.
13 The Bulls sent the Pelicans to the charity strip 26 times – an area that Donovan identified prior to the complaint, given the Pelicans fourth in the ranking for free-throw attempts per game (24.8) and the Bulls’ 27th attempt mark of the opponent’s free throw allowed (25.2).
That – and a big ink dot advantage – helped the Pelicans stay in the game for a while, but both are footnotes in a resounding victory.
14 To end on a high note: the Bulls recorded 36 assists, the record for the season. If you know, you know.
Post-match report
Donovan, blank from depression: “He’s always been a bit of an underdog … I think he’s really looking forward to getting better and getting better. And he’s very competitive, and I think he’s probably dealt with a lot of that throughout his life where a lot of people may have guessed or doubted of him at different points and conjuncture throughout his life and competitive sports. I think he built a resilience in him that he learned, that he has to believe in himself. “
LaVine, blank: “We are explosive enough to do that, two really good snipers … I’m really happy that Coby is back on track. He showed that confidence again. “
White, watching LaVine gets hot: “It was incredible, man, to be honest. He’s just a pitcher, no matter how he puts the ball in the basket. It’s crazy. You see this a lot. Just count the number of times since this year and last year, how many times have I seen him leaving a very hot place where he really isn’t – is he really really hot or is it just him? “
White, in dealing with his fall: “You have to keep going. Basketball is full of ups and downs. You will never please everyone, so I don’t look at it much about the discussion … I’m still growing up and I’m still learning and I know it, but I just have to be who I am and go out to play and block out the noise . That’s the most important. “
Donovan, on going to Kornet by Felício: “I thought taking his big ones out of the basket could open up some driving opportunities because of Luke’s ability to kick … Cris has been really good when we use him, but if he’s playing in the dunk, closer to the basket , is bringing these bigger people (Williamson, Steven Adams) closer to the edge. “
Next: The Los Angeles Clippers arrive in Chicago on Friday.
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