The Chicago Bulls snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday, January 11, with a 108-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on the road.
The Bulls overcame losses throughout the week against the Dallas Mavericks (Monday, January 6), New Orleans Pelicans (Wednesday, January 8) and Indiana Pacers (Friday, January 10) to defeat the Pistons.
“I thought our energy in the first quarter was maybe the difference in the game for us,” said Jim Boylen, head coach of the Chicago Bulls. “We talk(ed) about the spread in the first quarter being the difference of the score a lot of times in NBA games.”
The Bulls had one of their best offensive starts to a game this season after jumping out to a 35-20 lead in the first quarter.
The team would receive strong offensive contributions from both their bench and rookie starter. Forward Luke Kornet scored a season high 15 points off the bench and (rookie) forward Daniel Gafford finished with 14 points, seven rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
Gafford also displayed amazing maturity throughout the game, after refusing to retaliate against Pistons star power forward Andre Drummond for hitting him in the head with the ball with 10:42 remaining in the third quarter. Following the incident, Drummond was immediately ejected from the game.
In addition to a great game by forwards Kornet and Gafford, Bulls guard Zach LaVine led all scorers with 25 points. LaVine scored a game-high 25 points after dropping 43 points the night before against the Pacers.
Final Score: Bulls 108, Pistons 99.
With the victory, the Bulls improved to 14-26 on the season. Pistons guard Derrick Rose finished with a team-high 20 points in the loss.
Chicago Crusader Players of The Game:
Zach LaVine, Bulls, 25 points.
Derrick Rose, Pistons, 20 points.
Luke Kornet, Bulls, 15 points.
Daniel Gafford, Bulls, 14 points and seven rebounds.
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.
