The Bulls have made a habit of losing the games they should win, while winning the games they should lose, but they went against the pattern last night, mounting another improbable comeback that came up short.
Until a miracle three by Isaiah Thomas at the very end, the two sides played to a draw in the first quarter. Chicago managed to keep it close despite going 1-4 from three and 0-7 from the line (five from Pau Gasol, the others from Jimmy Butler).
Where the Bulls lost this game was in the second quarter. A lineup of Brooks/Hinrich/Snell/Mirotic/Gibson got absolutely smoked, giving up a 14-0 run, book-ended on both sides by lay-ups from Brooks, who had one of his stronger games of the season.
An example of how brutal the Bulls spacing can be when Kirk and Snell share the floor, which has become much more common in Mike Dunleavy’s absence:
Butler and Derrick Rose combined to go just 16-41, but those two and Brooks were the only scorers for Chicago from midway through the first until a Joakim Noah dunk just before halftime. They were putrid from three point range (Rose 0-6, Jimmy 1-6), making up for it by getting to the line 17 times, and, frankly, they earned even more than that.
Just as with the Laker game, they climbed out of a 15 point deficit, taking a one point lead on Hinrich’s lone basket of the game. However, Phoenix scored the final basket of the third to retake the lead and they never looked back, with Eric Bledsoe rendering Brooks’ one-man comeback moot via the basket seen in the header photo in the final seconds. Bledsoe and Goran Dragic led the Suns with 23 and 21 points respectively, each on 50% shooting, overcoming foul trouble all night for the Alex Len-Markieff Morris frontcourt pairing.
Four positives from this game:
1. Rose was consistently attacking the basket, a very good sign, especially on their third road game in four nights.
2. For the third game in a row, Noah looked more spry. The finishing at the rim still isn’t great, but his mobility is getting there. He had 9/10/5 and a pair of blocks.
3. Kirk’s struggles are so pronounced that Thibs is finally noticing. He played just 11 minutes, the first time Thibs has ever played him under 17 minutes when healthy. In his last 11 games, he’s averaging under four points per game on 30% shooting in over 25 minutes.
4. Brooks continues to not cool off. He had 21 points in 32 minutes on 8-13, and this time did so without a turnover.
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