You don’t see 42-point in-game swings every night in the NBA.
Specifically, it was written by the 1-2 Chicago Bulls team, who had just entered the game in a 32-point defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers and hosted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics on Monday.
But that’s exactly what the Bulls did, turning a 19-point first-quarter deficit into a 23-point second half at one point and an impressive 120-102 win in the end, leading them 2-2 on the season.
Here are 10 observations:
one. Not many teams have a great response for a wing duo akin to Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but the Bulls looked particularly ill-equipped early on. Patrick Williams started the game by defending Tatum and Ayo Dosunmu by protecting Brown, but both saved all the defenders in front of them from the jump. With 15 points from Tatum (6v5 fielding) and 10 from Brown (8v4), they had 25 of Boston’s 39 points in the first quarter, and had 11 to 8 picks on 3-pointers. some.
2. The Bulls finished the first quarter with 19 points. But a rotational adjustment by Billy Donovan changed the momentum of the game. In the first round 2:31, Donovan joined Javonte Green, replacing Goran Dragić, Alex Caruso, LaVine and Andre Drummond. At the end of the quarter, Boston was leading 39-30. Derrick Jones Jr. After tapping Green to open the second, the Bulls opened another 16-5 run with 7:48 to take a 46-44 lead.
This was a departure from the Cavaliers game, where Donovan drove in an all-back group to bridge the gap between the first and second quarters that allowed Cleveland to build a 19-point lead that proved insurmountable. Monday’s bridge team defended fiercely and ran with enthusiasm, pushing the Celtics to their heels just minutes after appearing dominant.
3. Jones started the season out of rotation, but managed to start the second quarter for the second game in a row. Donovan described Jones’ minutes on Saturday as “productive,” but this time he’ll need a more enthusiastic adjective. In his first eight minutes, he put in 10 points (4 on 4, 4 on 4 from the foul line), hitting the basket hard for dunks and fouls, and rushing the Celtics’ flanks. activity on the defensive side.
4. It was a good night for the center against a Boston front line where the Bulls returned Al Horford, Grant Williams and Noah Vonleh (who had four five-minute fouls in the first half) as greats, with Robert Williams on the sidelines. guards and forwards often. The Bulls brought back 14 offensive rebounds and 16-second chances in the game, giving Boston a 46-34 lead in the paint.
Nikola Vučević maintained his lead and was firmly established at home with a dominant 18 points, 23 rebounds (10 offensive) double-double. Combined with Drummond’s 12 boards, they nearly match the Celtics’ entire team’s 44 total.
5. Alex Caruso was another spark in the first second quarter, harassing the Celtics’ guards and flanks, tossing the ground for loose balls and igniting many fast attack opportunities. He blocked two shots and made a three-pointer in that period, but his effect went far beyond the statistics table (+25 halftime plus-minus in 10 minutes, although summing up a decent amount).
Donovan spoke pre-game about keeping a close eye on Caruso’s playing time, given his reckless style and the importance of keeping him fresh for the minutes he plays. He gave a sensational performance in 18 minutes in this game, recording 7 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, and played the game high +29 plus and minus.
6. Dosunmu’s self-confidence remains remarkable for an experience level player currently assigned to the role she occupies. He scored 20 points for the game on 9v9s that came in crucial in the third quarter as Boston finished the half. Dosunmu’s pace on the rides not only caught Boston off guard in a few sharp finishes, but he also made all four of his 3-pointer tries, pushing the season streak 18 to 9 (50 percent in 4.5 tries). per game, more than the 2.4 he got last season).
7. DeRozan and LaVine were there when the Bulls needed them, but it was refreshing to see they didn’t need to do the heavy lifting to get a convincing victory. DeRozan had 25 points on 17-on-10 field goals. LaVine finished poorly compared to his first game of the season, shooting 10-by-2 in a 5-on-15 and 3-pointer overall, but he put enough pressure on the Celtics’ defense with drivers and the threat of pull-up jumpers. Free deals for teammates.
8. The Bulls entered the game, shooting 92 to 27 (29.3 percent) in their first three games and ranked 29th with a 3-pointer in the NBA. Perhaps encouraged by an extremely fast, defensive-centric game flow, this match shot 21v10 (47.6%) from Dosunmu, LaVine (5v3) and Green (2v2). they took multiple triplets. ).
9. Williams, who played six minutes, and Coby White, who played three minutes, were effectively dropped from the halftime rotation after each of their first stints and as the second-unit-led squad above began to roll. Williams kicked off the second half, and despite shooting 7v2 for the night and having tough defensive lines on Tatum, a few good moments shone: a first-quarter chase block at Brown and a strong offensive rebound and dunk back in the third quarter, two names.
At the end of the game, however, he (15 minutes including a few trash-time ticks) and White (9 minutes) recorded the Bulls’ minimum minutes of rotation players.
10. It’s hard to overstate the Bulls’ in-game comeback this time around. They were down 19 points in the first half, led by 23 points in the fourth quarter, and eventually won by 18 points. The physicality on the defensive side, which they discovered late in the first quarter and maintained throughout, was most notable. take away. They gave the Celtics a 90-63 lead between the second and fourth quarters, keeping them on 63-28.3 to 37-by-10 shots.
Next up for the Bulls: hosting the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
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