The Chicago Bulls can’t string two wins collectively.
After a comeback victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday, they dropped the second sport of the back-to-back sequence Monday night time 118-100. The Bulls are 5-10 and but to report consecutive wins as they put together to embark on a four-game journey starting Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Here are 5 takeaways from Monday’s sport.
1. Not a quick begin, however not an excessively sluggish one both.
It took the Bulls lower than three minutes to fall behind by 10 factors, forcing coach Billy Donovan to take a timeout 2 minutes, 29 seconds into the sport.
This is a standard theme for the Bulls, one of many worst first-quarter groups within the league. After the Heat led 22-1 on Saturday, the Bulls had been decided to begin sooner Monday. But whereas the deficit wasn’t as dramatic, the Bulls nonetheless suffered from a sluggish begin that they couldn’t overcome.
The Bulls by no means led, getting inside 4 factors within the third quarter earlier than the Heat put their foot on the gasoline.
2. Poor fourth-quarter taking pictures negated an in any other case correct night time.
The Bulls had been 11-for-26 (42.3%) behind the 3-point arc by three quarters, which allowed them to maintain tempo even after falling behind by double digits.
Coby White went 3-for-5 within the first half and Zach LaVine went 2-for-4 within the third quarter to assist the Bulls counter Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who completed with six 3-pointers in 9 makes an attempt and scored 22 factors.
But within the fourth quarter, the Bulls utterly cooled off. They went 0-for-9 on 3s within the quarter, a think about permitting the Heat — who completed 17-for-35 behind the arc — to drag away.
3. Coby White led the Bulls in scoring with a season-high efficiency.
While the Bulls struggled to succeed in triple digits on one other stagnant offensive night time, White supplied a uncommon spark. He scored a season-high 20 factors, together with 4-for-8 3-point taking pictures, whereas meting out three assists.
This hasn’t been the strongest taking pictures season for White, who was taking pictures 38% from the sector and 30.9% from 3-point vary by 14 video games — each effectively beneath his profession percentages. White has been adjusting to his new function as place to begin guard, which has seen him double his help common (4.1 per sport).
4. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan opted for assists to adapt to the Heat protection.
Monday continued a development for LaVine, who took solely 4 photographs within the first half and 9 within the sport. He completed with 13 factors for the second sport in a row because the Heat deployed a sequence of traps and double groups to maintain the ball out of the guard’s palms.
DeRozan confronted the same defensive problem, ending with 15 factors on 6-for-10 taking pictures. LaVine and DeRozan recorded 5 assists apiece, which mirrored their intent to take what the protection was giving them and dish the ball to their teammates.
“That was the strategy, obviously, getting the ball out of our hands,” LaVine stated. “I didn’t feel like forcing it. It didn’t seem like we needed to force it to get some good shots up. It’s just tough.”
5. Another down night time for the Bulls bench.
The Bulls bench offered the turning level in Saturday’s comeback win however couldn’t produce the identical outcomes Monday. The reserves mixed for 21 factors, six of them coming within the remaining 2:28.
Patrick Williams produced effectively within the second quarter after not enjoying within the first, netting seven factors in lower than eight minutes. But he couldn’t maintain that manufacturing, ending with 9 factors. The remainder of the bench added solely six factors till rubbish time.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com