Daily Bulls

After dropping six straight games before the All-Star break, the Chicago Bulls find themselves back in the play-in picture with a 102-82 win against the Washington Wizards, the second straight win for Chicago. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with team-high 29 points, missing only four shots, 11-for-15, and getting six assists. Zach Lavine dropped 27 points for the Bulls, shooting 11-for-18 and getting four assists. With this win, Chicago will become 28-33 and .5 games behind the Wizards for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference.

Nobody for Washington scored at least 20 points. The closest was Bradley Beal, who had 18 points. Delon Wright scored 14 points. Kyle Kuzma struggled all night, shooting 4-for-18 from the field, resulting in 10 points. Daniel Gafford had himself a night against his old team with 15 points and 11 rebounds, five offensive rebounds.

Messy three Quarters for both teams

The same old struggles of turnovers and second-chance points hurt Chicago for the first three quarters. Each team had five turnovers in the 12 minutes of action, but the Wizards had nine points off those five Bulls turnovers. That helped Washington build their biggest lead of the night at six, 27-21. But Zach Lavine got ten first-quarter points to keep Chicago in range. Chicago would finish the game with six turnovers after the first quarter, 11 total. DeRozan, Lavine, and Vucevic scored all 25 points in the first quarter.

Washington lost the turnover battle with 16 turnovers. That resulted in 25 points on the other end for Chicago. A couple of battles Washington won were points in the paint and second-chance points. For points in the paint, the Wizards outscored the Bulls 44-38. Second chance points were 22-9. Both areas are reasons for the Bulls not taking control of the game until the fourth. The number one reason for that was Daniel Gafford; nobody on the Bulls could box out Gafford, leading to second-chance opportunities.

Three-Point Shooting Struggles

The environment felt like a playoff game in the first 36 minutes of Sunday’s Eastern Conference showdown. The defense insanity picked up, leading to challenging and good jump-shot contests. Nobody had a lead bigger than seven during the first three quarters. Both teams finished the game making six threes each, the Bulls shooting 26.7% and the Wizards shooting 21.4%.

No surprise the Bulls struggled to make threes, which has been a problem all season. But the Wizards, on the other hand, Kyle Kuzma went 1-for-8 from the three, and Corey Kispert going 1-for-7, finished the game with seven points. For Chicago, they turned the switch during the fourth quarter.

Bulls dominate Fourth Quarter

Coby White hit a couple of back-to-back threes to get the Bulls their first double-digit lead to start the fourth quarter. That helped Chicago begin the fourth quarter with a 10-5 run to take an 84-72 lead. White finished the game with 17 points, going 3-for-5 from deep. Later in the quarter, Gafford picked up a technical foul for complaining about a loose ball foul. After the technical, with 4:13 remaining in the game, Chicago finished the game on a 14-5 run led by DeRozan and Lavine scoring all 14 points.

Chicago shot 61.1% from the field and 57.1% from three during the fourth quarter. While Washington struggled, shooting 33.3% and 0% from three. The Bulls outscored the Wizards 28-15 during the fourth quarter. The Bulls limit their opponent to under 100 points for the second straight game.

Final Thoughts

Ugly Shooting but defense was outstanding for Chicago

Nobody was shocked when the Bulls began shooting 1-for-11 during the first half. But the Bulls’ defense, especially during the fourth quarter, put them back in the play-in picture. The fourth quarter has the quarter Chicago’s defense fell apart in the past, but not today. The Patrick Beverley effect is real, helping DeRozan, Caruso, and Dosunmu each get two steals. Rotations were once again excellent to watch, with some miscues. Chicago is in must-win situations for the rest of the season, with another big game on Tuesday against a team also in the play-in picture in the Eastern Conference.

Wizards become 0-2 after All-Star Break

After having a 4-1 record ending into the All-Star break, Washington has started 0-2 and lost against teams in the Playoff Picture, New York, on Friday, 115-109. Washington was 6-2 without Porzingis this season but now is 6-3; Porzingis did not play earlier today due to knee soreness. Washington’s schedule doesn’t get any prettier with matchups ahead against Toronto twice and Milwaukee next Sunday. The good news is Washington still holds the last play-in spot with a 28-32 record, but the Bulls are starting to get hot.

Up Next

Chicago will face Toronto on Wednesday.

Washington will take on Atlanta on Tuesday.

Season Series ends in a tie, 2-2.

Follow us on Twitter!!!!

Check out other Posts!!