With a 123-110 victory over Charlotte Hornets on Friday, the Bulls have a streak of three consecutive wins for the first time since February 23, 2019.
Here’s what stood out:
Core comes to play
Bulls fans have been looking forward to Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen finding the flow at concerts with each other for – really – years. We saw his pick-and-roll chemistry progress under Billy Donovan. We both saw steps forward on the offensive side.
Against the Hornets, they led the offensive attack. LaVine scored 15 points from 6 in 7 shots (2 in 3 out of 3) in the first half, while Markkanen scored 13 points out of 6 out of 10. Outside the third quarter gate, the team’s first field basket came in a LaVine swing for a Markkanen triple.
LaVine ended the night with 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, including 9 points in the fourth period, which helped to freeze the competition. Markkanen scored 23 points out of 10 out of 17, balancing his attempts between 2 (9) and 3 points (8).
In 2019-20, LaVine and Markkanen each scored 20 or more points in the same game six times out of 46 chances. In eight games played this year, they have achieved that feat three times.
Coby White also performed well, scoring 18 points, 8 assists and 2 steals. The three added 66 of the Bulls’ 123 points.
The bull bank is still better than most other banks
The Bulls’ reserves again contained several tides in this. After the Hornets grew by six points in the first quarter, contributions from Thad Young, Garrett Temple, Otto Porter Jr., Denzel Valentine and Tomáš Satoranský helped secure a one point lead in second place.
Then, at the end of the third, the Hornets applied the pressure of the ball across the court in various possessions to try to dig their deficit. Porter and Temple’s buckets pushed the lead to 12 into the final frame. The bank score ended 46-20 in favor of the Bulls.
Young and Temple (15 points, three 3s), especially, established an active tone defensively after the Hornets started humming early on the offensive side. Valentine hit two 3s and 3 assists. Porter scored 7 of his 13 points in the fourth period. And in his first action since December 29, after recovering from COVID-19, Tomáš Satoranský made 4 assists in 11 minutes.
Young talents win press conferences, but these vets are winning games.
Fast hits
- Gafford begins: With Wendell Carter Jr. off the pitch due to a right hip injury, Daniel Gafford had his first start to the season. He played 19 minutes, scoring 7 points, catching 6 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
- Night off for Patrick Williams: It was a homecoming case for Williams, but he had a rare night when he looked like a rookie, scoring 4 points out of 2 out of 7 shots. The worry was that he refused several open opportunities with 3 points.
- Hutchison on the periphery: Along with Satoranský, Chandler Hutchison was active for the first time since December 29, after recovering from COVID-19. Donovan’s rotation reached 10 men deep, but Hutchison registered a DNP.
- Battle of the interior: The Bulls won the battle of points painted by 64-52, offensive boards 15-11 and second chance points differential 18-6.
Measuring stick set
Donovan played down the idea that a victory over the Hornets could send a statement, given his relatively equal position with the Bulls in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. He prefers to focus on growth in a vacuum.
Still, this is a significant, quality victory over a Hornets squad at its Eastern Conference level. Two other measures: The Bulls, for the fourth time this season, eclipsed 30 assists and won the turnover battle 20-17. The offense is going on.
With the win, they move to 7-8. Next: The Lakers at United Center on Saturday.
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