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The Chicago Bulls won yet another competitive clutch game, this time against the Utah Jazz, 119-117 on Wednesday night.
Here’s how it happened:
Coby White stays hot
Coby White came out firing from deep, holding onto the revitalized confidence he re-discovered on Monday in Sacramento. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, doing all of his scoring damage in the first three quarters. He drilled 7-of-11 threes with six rebounds and six assists.
Zach LaVine owns the Chicago Bulls franchise record for most threes made in a season with 204. After making seven against the Jazz, White is now up to 179.
The Bulls three-point shooting on the whole
They were trending towards one of their better three-point shooting nights of the season.
Through three quarters, the Bulls were 17-of-38 from beyond the arc.
They finished 17-of-39.
It is perhaps no coincidence that the Bulls offense completely tailed off in the fourth quarter as they stopped attempting threes. Not to say the offense should be driven by the long ball, but those attempts are a product of good drive-and-kick movement, transition pull ups and extra passes.
DeMar DeRozan closing
Yet again, the Bulls played in a clutch game, their 36th out of 62 games this season. They are now 16-10 in such games with a 22.6 net rating.
Unlike Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, it was the Bulls who blew the lead that led this to being a clutch game. The Bulls led by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, and 10 early in the fourth.
But as the Jazz started their scoring frenzy, it was DeMar DeRozan’s mastery that kept the Bulls alive.
After going 7-of-7 for 19 points in the fourth quarter on Monday, DeRozan again went hero mode with 17 fourth quarter points on 6-of-12 shooting and 5-of-5 free throws.
DeRozan finished with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting with six rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes.
Second chance points for the Jazz
The Bulls have been better of late when it comes to defensive rebounding. They’re 12th in the league in opponent offensive rebounding rate since February 1 compared to 16th beforehand.
But the Jazz are second in the league in offensive rebounding, and got loose on the offensive glass on Wednesday night, securing 14 boards leading to 22 second chance points. Those 14 are the tied for the 8th most the Bulls have allowed all season.
Pick-and-roll defense
Prior to the game, Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley got some good quotes from Billy Donovan explaining Nikola Vucevic’s role in the Bulls 18th ranked defense.
“One of the things we’ve kind of gotten away from is just being straight drop with him just because the guard gets screened, it’s so hard for a big that’s back when you got a guy coming at him with a head of steam,” Billy Donovan told Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley. “When the ball has come downhill, he’s done a pretty good job of going vertical, he’s always been an elite defensive rebounder. Being a veteran, he’s seen so many of these guys, and he’s diligent in his work.”
Though Vucevic has been solid in his role, the Jazz took advantage of him early in third quarter, spurring a run back into the game.
The Bulls rely heavily on excellent point-of-attack defenders getting skinny over ball screens to blow up these actions, as well as the low man (weak side defender on the opposite block) stepping in to ‘tag the roller’ and take away the drive.
Without an elite rim protector, the Bulls have to be a well-oiled machine on that end, and though they have been solid at times, they’re not living up to the top-five number they put up last season.
Kerfuffle
Late in the fourth quarter, some tensions boiled over on the Bulls bench between Torrey Craig, and Jazz’s Collin Sexton and John Collins. This resulted in Collins grabbing? pushing? putting his hands on? Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming’s neck.
Fleming, Craig and Collins were assessed technical fouls on the play, which put the Jazz on the free throw line. Jordan Clarkson nailed the free throw, tying the game, before DeRozan got his trip to the line for the personal foul on the actual play that led to all the chaos.
Ultimately, the Bulls were able to pull out the win, but this is now the second time in three games the team has lost its composure late. With little margin for error, they’ll need to be in better control of their emotions for the stretch run.
Up next: Bulls have a back-to-back in Golden State against the Warriors, who will also be on the second leg of a back-to-back, on Thursday.
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