Tag: Chicago Bulls

Kings fall in Chicago 94-87

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Photo credit: NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Sacramento Kings 94-87 on Saturday night in Chicago. It was a game that featured daunting defense and lacked on solid offense from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field. The Kings hit on 31 of 85 (.365) shots. They converted just 2 of 14 3-point opportunities. The Bulls shot .397 (31 of 78) and were 6 of 20 from beyond the 3-point line. Defense ruled the game.

The Kings out-rebounded the Bulls 55-40. Sacramento swept 19 balls off the glass to just 7 for Chicago. Even though they controlled the rebounding, it was not enough to give the Kings a win.

Sacramento really fell short in the assists category. They had just 12 assists for the game and had only 4 in the first half. Chicago recorded 21 assists.

Once again the Kings committed more turnovers than they had assists. They turned the ball over 16 times versus the Bulls.

Even with those less than spectacular statistics, the Kings were just 3 points down with 29 seconds left in the game. It was a battle of the defenses.

After the game, Kings’ coach Michael Malone said he was proud of how hard his team played and for keeping the game so competitive. He acknowledged there things that could have been down better, but Malone was happy with the way his team battled versus the Bulls.

Isaiah Thomas led all scorers in the game with 26 points. He also 5 assists. DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds despite being double-teamed by the Bulls all game.

Rudy Gay had a quiet game with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Gay is drawing the attention of opposing defenses and is having a tough time putting up the kind of numbers he was posting earlier in the season. The Kings need to make some adjustments to allow Gay to be productive on offense.

The Bulls were led by Joakim Noah with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. He also had 5 blocked shots and 3 steals.

Taj Gibson scored 19 points on just 9 shots. Mike Dunleavy put up 16 points and was 3 of 6 for 3-pointers.

The loss dropped the Kings record to 23-43 for the season. Chicago is now 37-29 and playoff bound in the Eastern Division.

The Kings wrap up the 7 game road trip on Sunday in Minnesota versus the Timberwolves.

Warriors bullrushed in Chicago

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes

CHICAGO — The Golden State Warriors saw their four-game winning streak come to screeching halt with a 103-83 loss to the Bulls in Chicago Wednesday night.

Taj Gibson led all scorers with 21 points off the bench for Chicago (31-26), who won for the seventh time in eight games.

Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Mike Dunleavy scored 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Joakim Noah scored eight points, but couldn’t be kept off the boards, raking in 17 rebounds. Chicago held a 56-41 edge on the boards, and scored 19 points on 16 Warriors’ turnovers.

Golden State (35-23) just didn’t have it going tonight.

Jordan Crawford led all Warriors with 16 points and David Lee came off the bench to score 11 points. Lee missed the previous two games with a stomach flu, met the team in Chicago after not traveling with the team initially.

Chicago really put the clamps on Stephen Curry, holding the All-Star point guard to just five points on 2-for-10 shooing. Curry exploded on the Bulls back on Feb. 6, scoring 34 points on 13-for-19 from the field to go along with nine assists in Golden State’s 107-82 victory in Oakland.

After leading 24-21 at the end of the first quarter, Golden State was gut-punched by Chicago being outscored by the Bulls 82-58 the rest of the way. Chicago neutralized Golden State by forcing the Warriors to shoot 35.7 percent from the field (30-for-84).

But Golden State didn’t have their best game as a whole.

Outside of bigs Andrew Bogut and Jermaine O’Neal combining for 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson combined for 13 points, but were 4-for-16 from the floor. Iguodala was 1-for-8.

No one in the Warriors’ starting lineup scored in double figures, which hasn’t happen since 1999.

The Warriors continue their current six-game road trip in New York Friday against Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks.

 

 

 

 

 

Curry leads shorthanded Warriors past Bulls, 102-87

Published on by gabeschapiroLeave a comment

By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (30-20) overcame a sluggish start, easing their way over the Chicago Bulls (24-25), 102-87, Thursday night, at Oracle Arena. The Warriors were without their two best big men, an already thin position, as Andrew Bogut and David Lee sat out due to injuries. Jermaine O’Neal and Draymond Green got the starts in their place. Despite the depleted roster, Golden State made much of the game look easy in a nice bounce back win.

The Bulls quickly opened up a 15-point lead in the first quarter, as the Warriors had an ugly start. The mood seemed grim, as it looked like it could be another poor outing for the scuffling Dubs squad. In the waning minutes of the first they seemed to slowly start righting the ship, ultimately carrying their regained composure through the rest of the game.

After chipping away at the lead in the second quarter, Golden State grabbed their first lead with 47 seconds left in the half. By the time the buzzer went off they had turned a 13-point deficit into a four-point advantage. They never turned back, building on their lead at the end of the third, and ultimately cruising to the victory with a strong fourth.

With two starters out, Stephen Curry stepped up with a great game. He scored a game-high 34 points on 13-19 shooting, 4-6 from three-point range, to go along with nine assists.

The other half of the splash brothers, Klay Thompson, did his part as well. He chipped in 22 points, 3-6 beyond the arc, to go with solid defense.

Harrison Barnes, who has been struggling as of late, had a good game off the bench. He scored 11, including a big three-pointer late to hammer the last nail into the Bulls coffin. He added six rebounds and two steals, in 29 minutes. Jordan Crawford also played well, scoring another 11 points in 21 minutes.

Four Chicago players finished in double figures, led by a double-double from Taj Gibson. He notched 26 points and 14 rebounds. Joakim Noah accomplished the rare rebounds-assists double-double, finishing with just seven points, but 10 boards and 11 assists.

The Warriors hope this is step one in regaining some consistency to their play. They’ve got the Phoenix Suns next up on the docket, when they travel to Arizona this Saturday, February 8. The game begins at 6:00 pm.