Bulls humiliated at home in loss to Pistons |
Dustin Riese
-
- Wed Feb 12 07:45:36 GMT-05:00 2025
CHICAGO - There wasn't much to talk about regarding the Chicago Bulls (22-32) as the fans at the United Center were treated to one of their worst games in franchise history. To make things worse, it came against an average team at best, the Detroit Pistons (28-26), but they have continued to get better as the season has gone on.
This was one of those games that was decided nearly as quickly as it started, as the Bulls fell behind by eight points early in the first and were never able to recover. Detroit would eventually push their lead to 34-18 after one but were leading 71-29 at the break, mainly in part to the horrendous second quarter that saw the Bulls score 11 points while allowing 37. The Bulls eventually got their offense rolling in the second half, but by then, this one was long over as the Pistons humiliated the Bulls 132-92 on their home floor. Getting blown out on your home floor is one thing, but watching how the Bulls got blown out was a different story, as this team has given up on the season. When you look at how the NBA is played this season, it's nearly impossible to score just 29 points in a half, yet the Bulls managed to make that look easy. This was one of those games where you flush it down the toilet and regroup for tomorrow as Matas Buzelis led the Bulls with 12 points, with Josh Giddey adding 11. Neither one saw more than 23 minutes on the floor, so having them as your leading scorers is a concern. Ayo Dosunmu, Nikola Vucevic, and even Tre Jones had eight points for the Bulls, while Coby White struggled to finish with five. As bad as things have been for the Pistons in recent seasons, brighter days are ahead, and the Bulls could take a page out of their blueprint about rebuilding a roster. There will be struggles along the way, but it could be worth the wait if you can land a player like Cade Cunningham as your foundational piece. Cunningham was the only starter to reach 20 points, finishing with 20 as he had another strong game. However, this one was about the Pistons bench, and one player in particular, Malik Beasley, was the spark the Pistons were looking for from the second unit. Beasley connected for seven three's three less than the entire Bulls roster and led the way for Detroit with 24 points in the win. The Pistons also got strong performances from Tobias Harris (18 points) and Asuar Thompson with 16 points, as they didn't need their starting five to be locked in. Marcus Sasser and Isaiah Stewart also had strong showings off the bench, scoring 14 points, as it was all Detroit from wire to wire in this one. Chicago will have a chance at redemption tomorrow night when these same teams face off again at the United Center. The Bulls will then enjoy much-needed time off as the All-Star festivities kick off this weekend.
LONG ISLAND MASHES WINDY CITY
LONG ISLAND - Chicago Bulls fans were treated to some afternoon basketball as the Windy City Bulls (6-13) headed out East to take on the Long Island Nets (7-10). In what was the first of a mini two-game road trip heading into the break, the Bulls came out about as flat as you can be before falling to Long Island 111-85.
Despite Windy City outscoring the Nets by five in the second half and scoring nearly 60 points, it's hard to win when your team is held to under 30 points in a half, which the Bulls managed to accomplish in this one. Not only did Windy City find themselves down 31-19 after one, but they followed that up with their worst quarter of the season as the Nets outscored them 27-8 in the second quarter.
That alone gave Long Island a 56-27 lead at the break, and they coasted throughout the second half to win. As has been the case for a while now, Windy City's offense has been an issue, evident throughout this game. Eric Gaines used a big second half to finish with a team-high 17 points, but that wasn't going to get them done, as none of the Bulls finished with more than that.
Emanuel Miller had the hot hand in the first half with 13 points but cooled off in the second half to come away with 16. David Muoka and Jordan Hall finished with 13 points and 11 points to round out the starting five, with the high-flying Jordan Jackson adding 13 off the bench for the Bulls.
Unlike Windy City, scoring wasn't an issue for the Nets, as there was more than enough offense. That included Drew Timme, who not only led all scorers with 23 points but did so by posting a triple-double as he added 15 boards and 10 assists to his line. Timme was just one of two 20 point scorers as Dariq Whitehead connected on four triples to finish with 20 points.
Long Island also benefited from Tyson Etienne's 16 points. Kendall Brown and Killian Hayes rounded out the starting five with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Brown added 10 rebounds to his 15 points, as the Bulls had few answers for anyone.
