Curry catches fire as Warriors top Bulls |
CHICAGO - It was the beginning of a new era for both the Chicago Bulls (22-31) and Golden State Warriors (26-26) as they displayed their new-look rosters at the United Center Saturday night. For the Bulls, it was the first time since the Zach Lavine trade that Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Kevin Huerter were in the lineup, although only two played.
The same can be said about the Warriors, who introduced their new start, Jimmy Butler, in front of the place he once called home after finally getting traded from Miami. Talk about a weird night of basketball action as the Bulls fell behind early before exploding in the second quarter to outscore the Warriors 38-21 and grab a 69-55 halftime lead. Not only was that an impressive first half, all things considered, but it was arguably their best offensive first half of basketball this season, as the Bulls could do no wrong. Then came the second half, where the Bulls not only went silent, but the Warriors' offense caught fire, evident by their 42-25 third quarter that put them in front for good. The Warriors then dominated the fourth quarter as the Bulls' offense ran out of gas in what was another blowout loss on the home floor, 132-111. While the entire second half played a role in why the Bulls lost this game, the 38-10 run in the third quarter was the knockout blow as the Warriors offense got rolling and never looked back. Credit Stephen Curry for that, as he finished with a game-high 34 points, 24 coming in that third quarter. Twenty-four points was the theme for Curry as 24 of his 34 points came off of eight made triples as he was on fire the entire second half. With Andrew Wiggins leaving Golden State as part of the Butler deal, the Warriors were down their second-best player, so the presence of Butler was on full display. Talk about someone who looked happy to be out of South Beach. The veteran forward made a lasting first impression with his new team to finish with 25 points and showed again that he still has some game left. Those may have been the big guns for the Warriors, but three other players came up clutch as Golden State benefitted from a balanced offensive attack. Quinten Post has bounced between the G-League and the NBA this season, but after dropping 18 points and four triples, it seems unlikely he will return anytime soon. You also saw Buddy Hield get off to a hot start to jump-start the offense early before settling in with 14 points, as Golden State had four starters in double figures. Not only did their starting five produce, but they had plenty of production from the bench, including the ever-improving Brandin Podziemski, who added 16 points to lead the bench. Those were the five double-digit scorers for Golden State. Knowing the production that Curry and most of the Warriors starting five produced, the Bulls knew they were in for a tall task as they will no longer have their leading scorer to bail them out. They still have Coby White, who did his best to keep pace with Curry and knocked down six triples of his own to finish with a team-high 27 points. Even with the Bulls having more players in double figures than the Warriors, when White is the only player with more than 20, the result is set in stone, as Chicago will need more consistent scoring the rest of the way. Seeing Matas Buzelis remain in the starting lineup to finish with 16 points was a nice lift, as he will be the player to watch the rest of the way. The same can be said about Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu, as both survived the deadline and are viewed as potential long-term players. Neither of them had a great night, with Giddey finishing with 11 points and Dosunmu 10, but with six rebounds and four assists, Giddey did way more than what the box score indicates. Another player who survived the deadline and will now face an uncertain future is Nikola Vucevic. Seen as a potential Warriors target throughout the deadline, Vucevic stayed in Chicago and then put forth an ugly 10-point four-rebound game, which hasn't been something he has done much of this season. With most of the starting lineup struggling to put up points, it would come down to the Bulls bench to pick up the slack. Jalen Smith continued to do his part with 15 points, as did Patrick Williams, who dropped eight points. Apart from those two, the bench wasn't great, as Jones and Huerter combined to shoot just 1-10, with Huerter scoring all four of the points between the two. After a loss like this, it's evident that the Bulls are punting the rest of the season and have finally entered the tank conversation.
CELTICS CLIP THE BULLS IN G-LEAGUE ACTION
Not only did the parent club have a tough time winning on Saturday, but so did the Windy City Bulls (6-12), who fell to the Maine Celtics (11-9) at the NOW Arena. This was a game that went back and forth throughout the night as the Celtics opened up a 29-16 first-quarter lead before stretching their lead to 15 at the break.
Credit the Bulls for coming out strong in the second half as they not only began to chip away at their lead in the third, but managed to outscore the Celtics 27-21 in the fourth to force Overtime before falling 102-98 in the extra frame. Jordan Hall led the way for Windy City, who came out with an impressive 23-point, nine-rebound performance off the bench.
He was the only player to top 20 points in the game for the Bulls, with Emanuel Miller leading the starters with 18 points and EJ Liddell adding 11. David Muoka and Eric Gaines finished with 10 as scoring was an issue for the Bulls. The same can be said for the Celtics, who only had three players land in double figures, but when one of those three nearly scores 40, that is the only player you need.
JD Davidson had his way with the Bulls' defense, scoring nearly 40% of his team's points to finish with a game-high 36. He was the engine that made them tick. Drew Peterson chipped in with 19 points to round out the starters, while Donald Carey added 18 off the bench.
