Submitted by National Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The Chicago Bulls overcame a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to achieve a landslide victory over the New Orleans Pelicans 114-106.
Here are 10 notes:
— The Bulls have added to their league-leading minutes played and improved to 18-14 in such games, which are determined by being within five points with 5 or fewer minutes to play. They made several plays late, including great defense by Alex Caruso on Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and DeMar DeRozan, where they hit a huge 3-pointer with 30.7 seconds left to take a five-point lead. DeRozan had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
— The shorthanded Bulls got a breather when the shorthanded Pelicans got away thanks to league suspensions for Najee Marshall and Jose Alvarado and an ankle injury for CJ McCollum. Dyson Daniels missed his sixth straight game.
— However, the Bulls' absence of a power forward is widening, and with Patrick Williams out for the season, it will be a while until Torrey Craig can return from his knee injury. Caruso joked about how he's gotten used to playing power forward over the past two seasons. But his initial assignment was no joke — Williamson.
— In a nod to Williamson's unique combination of speed and power, Terry Taylor was the sixth man. It was Taylor's first no-clearance citation since Jan. 31 in Charlotte. Williamson scored 19 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, but the Bulls succeeded in reducing their score.
— Ayo Dosunmu burst out of the gate with 14 points in the first quarter, repeatedly beating the Pelicans in transition and making their first five shots. Dosunmu also extended his career-long streak of at least two 3-pointers in six games. He finished the game with 21 points, eight assists and three three-pointers. It is the second straight game in which Dosunmu has recorded a season-high eight assists.
— Billy Donovan burned a timeout just 66 seconds into the second half, which the Pelicans opened by scoring easily on two possessions. Donovan has two long-standing coaching habits — burning fast timeouts when his teams don't follow game plan points that were repeated in the first half and also taking timeouts between opposing players' free throws.
— Donovan stopped the big double lineup of Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond for the first time in as many games. He hinted at doing so with his pregame remarks, in which he said the five-man unit that included those two players wasn't good in Thursday's loss to Boston. Both players played well separately. Drummond made his biggest plays of the fourth quarter and finished with seven points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes. Vucevic because 33Research and development The player in the history of the NBA recorded 500 double-doubles, and finished the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
— Coby White hit a 29-foot 3-pointer on the game's opening possession just 15 seconds after the tipoff, but missed nine in a row before making his next field goal. However, White finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and shook off a sprained ankle to hit a big 3-pointer late on a DeRozan Drive-and-Dish. DeRozan drove twice and kicked to White for late shots despite White shooting 5-for-18, and more development in White's role late in the game.
— The Bulls tallied 29 assists, scored 15 second-chance points and knocked down 19 of 21 free throws. Playing shorthanded and without three-point shooting from Zach LaVine, Williams and Torrey Craig, the Bulls must take advantage of ball movement and easy points off second-chance opportunities or free throws to thrive offensively.
— Speaking of shooting, the Bulls signed Andrew Funk to a two-way contract Sunday morning. The 6-foot-5 guard shot over 40 percent for the Denver Nuggets' G League affiliate.
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