The Chicago Bulls have started their season 2-0 for the first time since 2021-22.
The Bulls had another strong first half defensively. Holding the Magic shot just 2-of-16 from three-point land, while putting them on the line for only five attempts.
In the third quarter, a switch flipped. The Bulls fouled Orlando for 20 free throw attempts in the period alone. That allowed the Magic to keep themselves in the game despite shooting just 3-of-24 from three overall.
The Magic’s offense sputtered through the fourth quarter, and the Bulls were able to come away with their second win of the season.
Josh Giddey led the way for the Bulls with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting. He made 2-of-5 three-point attempts and 5-of-6 free throws, and added eight rebounds and three assists. However, he was on the bench to close the game.
Tre Jones continues his fantastic play, scoring 13 points, but adding eight assists, five rebounds and five steals. His steady play gave Billy Donovan enough trust to allow him to run the show while keeping Giddey on the bench to close out.
Matas Buzelis had a disappointing game, shooting just 1-of-5 from the field, scoring just three points. Tasked with guarding Franz Wagner to start the game, Buzelis fouled out in 12 minutes of action. He’ll have better days ahead.
Patrick Williams had a strong night, attacking mismatches in the post for 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He added five rebounds, five assists and two steals in his productive evening.
Tune into the CHGO Bulls postgame live show:
Up next: The Bulls are back at home on Monday to host the Atlanta Hawks.
Giddey may never be a great shooter, but he’s doing his part.
He shot over 40 percent on open threes (six or more feet of space) last season, and made the Magic pay for leaving him wide open on Saturday night, where he made 2-of-5 threes.
Eventually, they’ll have to respect him and close out, which will help the Bulls’ offense by pulling extra defenders out of the paint. If that happens, Giddey will be able to get into the paint where he is at his most effective. If not, he’ll have to keep hitting open threes and making teams pay for leaving him alone. — Will Gottlieb
Asking Isaac Okoro to guard Paolo Banchero is a tall task, literally. Okoro gives up five inches — and plenty of pounds of muscle — to the Magic’s franchise star. Donovan also let Buzelis and Williams try their best to check Banchero at times, too. But with Okoro…you have to wonder how many games Donovan will stick with him as this team’s 5th starter if he continues to give almost nothing on offense.
Through two games, Okoro is scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting. Being an offensively limited defensive specialist is one thing, and then there’s…whatever Okoro is right now.
Shout-out to the Bulls bench. The second unit – with Jones helping – sparked the Bulls’ first big run of the game, and had 31 points at halftime. The Magic were playing the second night of a back-to-back, so it was smart of Donovan to go 11 players deep. It will be interesting to see, as the season progresses, just how legit Arturas Karnisovas’ assertion is that the Bulls are one of the deepest teams in the league. — Matt Peck
This game was drunk — for real. Take the keys from this game and call it an Uber.
The Bulls started the game similarly to how they played in the preseason; starters got out of the gate slowly. Ayo Dosunmu (15 points) and the bench came in and changed the game.
To borrow a word from Matt Peck, the three-point shooting on both sides was “poopy.”
(Lee) Patrick Williams played with a pulse. He was involved on both sides of the ball. Double-digit scoring. It’s good to see.
Jalen Smith (16 points) played MUCH better tonight and it was sorely needed. — Big Dave
