Bulls News: LaVine drops 33 in road win over Blazers |
PORTLAND - No Demar DeRozan, no problem, as the Chicago Bulls (35-38) picked up a massive win to start this crucial road trip. With only nine games left in the regular season, every game is critical at this point, especially when you look at the position the Bulls have put themselves in.
Despite this season's struggles, inconsistencies, and overall disappointment, the Bulls are a playoff team right now as they continue to hold down the No. 10 seed and are just .5 games out of the No. 9 spot. They are playing their best basketball of the season when it matters, and a big reason for that is Patrick Beverley's arrival. Looking to start their three-game West Coast trip with a bang, the Bulls knew they would have to give it their all as DeRozan was unavailable with a quad injury. What could have spiraled out of control turned into one of the Bulls best overall performances of the season as they used a massive second quarter to surge past the Portland Trailblazers (32-41) 124-96. Portland is also a team the Bulls should keep a close eye on this summer, as Damien Lillard may ask for a trade. If that is the case, Chicago needs to jump on the opportunity. Granted, Lillard didn't suit up for this game, making things a bit easier. Even with him on the floor may not have mattered as Chicago came focused and ready to go. After a first quarter that saw the score knotted 26-26, Chicago exploded in the second quarter and nearly doubled up Portland 35-19 to take a 16-point lead into the break. They built on that lead in the second half and have started to play like the team everyone thought they would be. Without DeRozan and his services, Zach Lavine was going to have to shoulder the load as he has done so many times in the past. Going back to early January, Lavine has been on a tear and has been averaging north of 30 PPG during that time. On the strength of six triples and 60% shooting overall, LaVine had a great game and led all scorers with 33 points. Giving Lavine a nice compliment on the inside was Nikola Vucevic, who went to work against the Portland defense. Not only was he 10-13 shooting, but he finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds as he is tied for third in the NBA in double-doubles this season. His play down the stretch will be crucial and someone the Bulls need to have deliver. Along with Beverley and the continued run of Lavine, you must credit the Bulls bench for stepping up the past month, and it has worked in their favor. Adding Beverley to the starting lineup has helped, but Coby White has been playing the best basketball of his career in March. That continued on Friday as he shot 77% from the field and connected on four triples to finish with 19 points. You also had Ayo Dosunmu put forth another great effort to help balance things out on the bench. Ever since Alex Caruso was moved into the starting lineup, Dosunmu has been on the bench and seemed a lot more comfortable there. He finished with 13 points, and his shooting has continued to improve. The Bulls also received 10 points from Patrick Williams, as there was plenty of scoring to go around. Without Lillard, Portland knew that scoring would sometimes be an issue and that someone would have to step up. Shaedon Sharpe did his best to pick up the slack and finished with a team-high 24 points despite under 40% shooting. Apart from him, you had four other players reach double figures, with two coming in the starting lineup. Trendon Wartford battled with Vucevic all game and finished with 15 points, while Drew Eubanks added 12 points and seven rebounds to round out the double-figure starters. Regarding the Blazers bench, there was plenty of production from that unit, but none more than Jabari Walker. Walker led the Portland bench with 14 points to help get the offense going when they needed it. You also had Keon Johnson pick up 12 points off the bench for another scoring option, but in the end, the Bulls proved to be too much in the dominating win. Chicago will return to the court Sunday afternoon when they face the Los Angeles Lakers at 2:30 CDT. This is one of the games Beverley had circled when he arrived in Chicago, so look for him to be amped and ready to go.
