The Chicago Bulls completed a successful road trip last week in New York City, earning back-to-back huge wins over both the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, December 2, and Saturday, December 4.
BULLS VS. KNICKS
In game one versus the Knicks, the Bulls got help from their Big 3 in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The three combined to score 88 of their team’s 119 points in the victory.
DeRozan scored 18 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter.
“I mean, it just makes everything so much easier,” said LaVine about DeRozan’s help and his amazing fourth-quarter performance. “It’s not all the pressure on you.”
LaVine said DeRozan has provided the team with the necessary leadership skills to help close out games down the stretch. And thanks to DeRozan’s leadership skills, the Bulls are now 16-8 on the season and are second in the Eastern Conference behind the Brooklyn Nets.
Final Score: Bulls 119, Knicks 115.
In Thursday’s win versus the Knicks, both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic finished tied with 27 points apiece.
BULLS VS. NETS
In game two versus the Nets, the Bulls needed a big three-pointer by guard Lonzo Ball to close out the game, with a 111-107 win on the road.
In spite of the win versus the Nets on Saturday, coach Donovan said he wants his team to continue to build on good habits, a level of consistency and develop an identity. He remained humble after the win.
“I don’t want to over magnify the win. I don’t want to do anything to take away the work these guys put in,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan about the Brooklyn Nets current roster situation. “They’re banged up like we are. There are guys out of the rotation for them like us. They are the best team record wise in the East(ern Conference). It was a great game for us to come in and play against a really good team.”
“We can learn a lot more about ourselves, but I’m not going to sit there and take one game in the middle of December and act like this is unbelievable,” Donovan said. “It’s one game. I think playing against a team like this, you find out a lot more about yourself and about where you need to get better and need to improve. [Again] It’s only one game.”
With the win, the Bulls improved to 16-8 on the season and were led by the hot shooting of guard Zach LaVine. LaVine led his team in scoring with 31 points and guard DeMar DeRozan scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Final Score: Bulls 111, Nets 107.
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu added 11 points in the victory.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
