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The Bulls broke a four-game losing streak with a 117-101 victory in Dallas over a severely shorthanded Mavericks team on Sunday.
Here is what stands out:
Injury Dončić had his
The bulls dodged Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porziņģis in their January 3 win over the Mavericks in Chicago. Despite a long list inactive, the two Dallas stars starred in this one.
As a follow-up to his rookie rookie season, Patrick Williams took on Dončić’s defensive responsibilities in their shared minutes. Once again, Williams handled the assignment confidently, but Dončić got his own. He scored or assisted on the Mavericks ‘first 19 points – scoring 10 points and four assists on a 4-for-8 shot in the first quarter – including two backward triples that beat Williams’ strong games.
The second quarter saw him warm up more, and in a particularly insurmountable way. He scored 14 points and boxed four 3-pointers in a furious flurry to close the final three minutes of halftime and entered the break with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Halfway through the third, he achieved his fourth triple-double of the season. Here is the penny that pushed him to cross that threshold:
Doncic finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists. But the Bulls made him work. Only six of his 36 points came in the second half, and it took him 30 field goal attempts to reach that final total.
“I didn’t think we closed the airspace enough, especially to close the half when it (Dončić) did those three, “head coach Billy Donovan said after the game.” We actually showed our guys some snippets of that at half-time … I just thought we did what we wanted to do early in the game in that second half. “
Bench boost
Ryan Arcidiacono (for Coby White) and Daniel Gafford (for Wendell Carter Jr.) scored Donovan’s first substitutions in this one after playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gafford had an immediate impact, scoring five points and blocking two shots to help pull off an 18-7 run in the first quarter that turned a 16-9 deficit into a 27-23 lead at the end of the frame (a advance which swelled from there.).
“Really, there was no reason for him (Gafford) to be out of the rotation against OKC other than knowing that OKC was going to have at least a few guys who were going to shoot 3s and this was the opportunity. to play Lauri some at 5, ”Donovan said. I give him a lot of credit for being ready. “
The bench, in general, has come to its own devices, enjoying an ultra-thin spin from the Mavericks. The visiting reserves combined to beat the home side 61-22.
For the Bulls, Garrett Temple was the headliner, scoring 21 points, filling the stat sheet with three assists, two interceptions and one block, and taking turns to defend Dončić himself. But it was a collective effort. As the Mavericks lost the Bulls’ lead throughout the fourth, Temple, Thad Young (15 points) and Otto Porter Jr. (14 points) took turns on shots that straightened the ship before the thought of another blown lead cannot permeate the thoughts of the team.
RELATED: Why Temple thinks the Bulls bench may be ‘the best in the league’
Denzel Valentine was the strange man, registering a DNP after registering 15 minutes against the Thunder. Donovan went for a 10-man rotation in this one, up from nine against Oklahoma City.
Lauri leaves her mark
At halftime, the Bulls’ starting backcourt had no basket between them, with six Zach LaVine free throws counting as their only points.
It was Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. who supported the Bulls early on. Markkanen scored 16 points in the first half with a single 3-point mark, converting five of six free throws and scoring eight points in the paint. After a mixed sack comeback against the Thunder, he looked assertive.
Likewise, Wendell Carter Jr., who turned his solid first two quarters into a final stat line of 12 points, seven rebounds, five steals and one block, with eight charity trips to boot.
LaVine and White, meanwhile, combined for just 10 points – all from LaVine – on a 1-for-13 shot.
But they also had 14 assists – ten of which belonged to LaVine – against three turnovers late in the afternoon. Markkanen and Carter each benefited from their facilitation on several occasions while rolling in the hoop.
Markkanen provided the statistical line of the day for the Bulls. He finished with 29 points (10 for 19 FG), 10 rebounds and three assists despite a 2-for-7 3-point shot. His downhill play on the offensive side should encourage him. Eight free throw attempts (with seven marks) are a season high.
“I just told him, with the way they’re flying on you, there’s going to be open discs all over the place,” Donovan said, referring to the Mavericks’ tough shutdowns on 3-point Markkanen attempts. “I give him a lot of credit, whenever they had room and they flew over him he put the ball on the ground, made some good passes, got some guys shots and obviously marked when going to the basket. “
RELATED: How LaVine Impacted Winning Over Mavericks With No Typical Score
Break the schneid
Yes, the Mavericks were understaffed. But it was a must-have performance for the Bulls to break their four-game slippage, nonetheless.
Their defense was notably more active and physical, passing a record 14 interceptions and holding the Mavericks to an opposing season.low 101 points. On offense, the Bulls assisted on 32 of 43 field goals while committing just 14 turnovers, more than four below their 30th season average early in the game.
After wasting a 22-point lead in the third quarter – which remained as high as 16 with four and a half minutes to go in the fourth – against Oklahoma City, that this one ended in a double-digit victory is a advance regardless of the staff.
“It’s a great group of guys. They want to learn and improve,” Donovan said. “It shows their character that when they released this game (Thunder), they didn’t lower their heads.”
The result drops the Bulls to 5-8 on the season. Next up: Back home for the Houston Rockets on Monday.
BONUS: cooking at home
Ask most players and coaches, and they’ll tell you that on-court advantage doesn’t exist in this mostly NBA season without fans.
But, basketball events aside … This Mavericks field design is a goalie, especially combined with their forest green homecoming uniforms:
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