NEWSLETTER
A 44-point swing.
Let me repeat that: A FREAKIN’ 44-POINT SWING!
You know the scene in the first Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire when Flash is trying to beat up in the hallway after he accidentally dumps food on him in the lunch room? I feel like that’s one of the best ways to describe what the Bulls did to the Grizzlies in this game. Memphis couldn’t have been more confident and more ready to knock Chicago out cold. But the Bulls couldn’t have been more ready to embarrass them.
Not a single Grizzlies punch made contact over the final two frames. Instead, the Bulls turned drives into turnovers and missed shots into transition scores. Then, with Memphis right where they wanted them, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan delivered the brutal final blow.
Memphis shot 53.5 percent in the first half and knocked down 13 3-pointers. They also outrebounded the Bulls by 10 and assisted on 19 of their first 25 made field goals. Leading 68-53 heading into the locker room, with the talent they have on their roster, the game felt all but over.
The Bulls then put together easily their best quarter of the entire season. They outscored the Grizzlies 40-16 to reclaim the lead in electric fashion. While LaVine and DeRozan were both great and cracked the 30-point threshold, it was really the supporting cast that made this turnaround happen.
Coby White and Patrick Williams had the most important sequence of the game to give the Bulls a lead they would never relinquish, and it went a little something like this …
– Patrick Williams 3 cuts it to 84-81
– Coby White dunk cut it to 84-83
– Patrick Williams putback erases the 23-point deficit and gives the Bulls 85-84 lead
– Coby White and-one makes it 88-84
From there, the vibes were immaculate.
Memphis went on to make one last 11-0 run to cut the score to 104-98 in the 4th quarter, but the Bulls weren’t about to fail that test. The Bulls instantly rattled off their own 11-0 run thanks to 7 points from LaVine. Then, it was smooth sailing toward one of the most impressive victories of the season.
I know the Bulls have played some of their best basketball while faced with a big deficit this season, but this was still an absolutely bonkers comeback. The way in which they stuck it to this very talented Grizzlies team in the second half is unlike anything we’ve seen all season long. I can’t remember a time they’ve looked more complete and more confident.
I mean, a 31-0 victory in the points-off-turnovers battle!? And a 70-36 victory in the paint!? Holy crap!
This was also an enormous victory when we consider the stakes. The Raptors had an easy win over the Hornets earlier today, so a loss here from the Bulls felt like it would have practically eliminated their chances of making a run at the No. 9 seed. With a win, however, they remain just 1.0 game behind the Raptors for potential homecourt advantage in the first Play-In game.
Anyway, we’ll talk way more about some of the individual performances in this game tomorrow. I know for a fact we’ll have to dig deeper into what we saw from Coby White! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
Check out the full box score here.
