The Chicago Bulls snapped their two-game losing streak with a 100-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons, on Sunday, March 21, on the road.
The Bulls were led by their All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine, who finished with 18 points and 3 rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
“These guys are always working to get better,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan via Detroit AP. “We’ve had some tough losses lately, the kind of losses that can linger, and I’ve been around teams where that’s been a problem. This group is good at avoiding that.”
In the first half, the Bulls showed little resilience against the Pistons defense and fell behind 25-20 in the first quarter. The Bulls bounced back in the second quarter and outscored the Pistons 26-20 to help build a 46-45 halftime lead.
The Bulls received strong contributions from second-year center Daniel Gafford, who added eight points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
“I’m grateful for every chance I get,” said Gafford via Detroit AP. “I was in the starting lineup and I took it for granted. I thought I could just keep doing it, and now I’ve learned I have to keep earning it.”
Gafford rebounded after his minutes were reduced by Coach Billy Donovan due to a rough playing stretch during a Wendell Carter Jr. injury.
Rookie Patrick Williams went 5-for-5 from the field and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes of play.
In the second half, the Bulls used a 54-41 run to close out the game.
Final Score: Bulls 100, Pistons 86.
With the victory, the Bulls are now 19-22 on the season. The team finished Sunday’s game with 14 three-pointers on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Chicago Crusader Newspaper Players of the Game:
Zach LaVine, Bulls, finished with a team-high 18 points.
Rookie Patrick Williams, Bulls, added 10 points and seven rebounds on 5-for-5 shooting from the field.
In addition to a huge victory on Sunday against the Pistons, the Chicago Bulls would suffer a two game losing streak after falling to both the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers this week.
On Monday, March 23, the Bulls fell 120-95 to the Jazz at the United Center. As the team had no answers for Jazz center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell.
Gobert and the Jazz limited the Bulls to 40-percent shooting from the field. And a game low 23.1 percent from the three-point arc. Gobert controlled the paint with a game-high nine blocks, 21 points and 10 rebounds and Mitchell finished with a game-high 30 points in 30 minutes of play.
Guard Zach LaVine did his best down the stretch to keep the Bulls in scoring contention. Posting a team-high 27 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
On Wednesday March 25, the Bulls followed Monday’s game with another loss to the Cavaliers after falling 103-94 at home. The Bulls were outscored 50-39 in the second half, in spite of guard Zach LaVine’s 22 points in the loss. The loss was the teams 24th of the season.
The Cavaliers were led by the hot shooting of guard Darius Garland, who scored 22 points in the win.
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.
