The Chicago Bulls needed to blow off some steam.
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That was clear within minutes of Sunday’s 124-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls haven’t won big often this season — before Sunday, they had only seven double-digit victories.
Beating the Nets (12-28), who rested star forward Michael Porter Jr., doesn’t mean much. The Bulls (20-22) remain two games under .500. They’re stuck in a familiar dance with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks just above the play-in tournament cutoff line.
But a 22-point beatdown of an Eastern Conference featherweight — off the back of a season-high 41 assists — gave the Bulls some much-needed satisfaction after an up-and-down week.
“I thought we shared the ball really well,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we generated good shots. I felt we were a little bit more active with our hands. That was all good.”
The win was met with somewhat muted enthusiasm from a half-full arena where fans clearly were splitting their attention with another game happening downtown. The biggest cheers of the night filled the United Center each time a highlight from the Bears playoff game was shown on the big screen at center court.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. Coby White was on fire.
Even on his best nights this season, White has been searching for his 3-point shot.
The guard has nearly returned to his scoring highs set last season, averaging 18.1 points (down from 20.4 last season) while bouncing in and out of the rotation because of lingering calf injuries. But he still is shooting significantly below his career numbers, with a 33.8% clip from deep compared with his 36.8% career percentage.
Despite these struggles from deep, White’s shooting has returned in flashes in recent weeks as he regains strength and consistency in his legs. Sunday’s win marked one of those nights.
White scored 21 of his 24 points behind the arc, sinking his first three attempts and finishing 7 of 11 (63.6%) from deep.
White’s onslaught was only part of a crucial advantage for the Bulls, who bludgeoned the Nets from the 3-point arc in the first half (60%). The Bulls cooled off after halftime but still outscored Brooklyn 60-48 from deep, including five 3s from Ayo Dosunmu and three from Matas Buzelis.
2. The bigs posted big minutes.
The Bulls still are waiting on the return of Zach Collins — who will be sidelined until after the All-Star break with a sprained big toe — to run out their full slate of double-big lineups. But that doesn’t mean they can’t lean on this preferred rotation in shortened stints.
Donovan started centers Jalen Smith and Nikola Vučević against the Nets, providing much-needed size against Brooklyn’s pairing of Nic Claxton and Danny Wolf. Both centers thrived in this system. Vučević tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Smith had 12 and 10.
Starting and closing with both bigs presents a grueling workload for the two centers. Vučević played 28 minutes, Smith nearly 31. But it was ultimately worth it for the Bulls, who have found comfort in the improved rim protection and physicality created by doubling up their centers.
3. Josh Giddey is nearing a return.
Giddey took another step toward returning Sunday by practicing with the Windy City Bulls. Giddey has been sidelined for three weeks with a strained left hamstring, missing nine games. If he came out of Sunday’s practice with minimal discomfort, the Bulls were hopeful he could return to practice with them by the end of this week.
This has been a disruptive injury for Giddey, who was making an All-Star campaign
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by averaging 19.2 points, nine assists and 8.9 rebounds. He has played only 300 minutes with White this season, a source of inconsistency for the Bulls.