Markkanen, Bulls rebound their way to first win
Maybe the Chicago Bulls needed the right good luck charm to pick up their first victory of the season.
Before Thursday's game against Atlanta, Bulls center Robin Lopez decorated his locker with a framed photo of a young Britney Spears. Lopez said he found the photo on the floor as he was walking out of the Air Canada Centre after the opening-night loss to Toronto.
"We'll always have Britney looking down on us," Lopez joked after the Bulls pulled out a 91-86 win over the Hawks at the United Center.
An even better good luck charm was rookie Lauri Markkanen. Even though the 7-footer from Finland didn't shoot well, he knocked down a clinching 3-pointer with 48.5 seconds left, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Markkanen finished the night 5-for-13 from the field and 2-for-8 from 3-point range. But with the Hawks within a point, coach Fred Hoiberg set up a play for Markkanen to set a screen for Jerian Grant, then pop out to the 3-point line.
"I guess you could say that worked pretty well," Markkanen said. "We knew how they were going to guard the pick and roll, so I slid there and was wide open. I knew I was going to be open. I knew before I caught the ball I was going to shoot it."
Lopez led the Bulls with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Backup guard David Nwaba had his best game of the season with 15 points and 11 boards. Nwaba flew across the lane to block a shot by Atlanta's Taurean Prince, which led to a Denzel Valentine 3-pointer and put the Bulls ahead 75-67 with 7:38 left. The Bulls outrebounded the Hawks 62-40.
Atlanta (1-4) rallied to take an 86-85 lead with 1:48 remaining on a 3-pointer by ex-Bull Marco Belinelli (23 points). On the next trip, Lopez found Justin Holiday for a reverse lay in to put the Bulls back in front. Markkanen's 3-pointer stretched the lead to 4.
"To be able to pull out a win despite those shooting numbers (36.5 percent as a team) is a great sign for our guys," Hoiberg said. "I told them we're going to have to do that, we're going to have to grind out games to give ourselves a chance if our shots aren't falling."
Would Mirotic leave the Bulls?
Meanwhile, there were a variety of reports Thursday about the future of injured Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic. The reports suggest Mirotic is willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to a new team.
Mirotic is recovering from a concussion and facial fractures resulting from a punch thrown in practice by teammate Bobby Portis on Oct. 17. Portis is serving an eight-game suspension.
There has always been a suspicion it will be tough to bring Mirotic and Portis back together as teammates. Portis said last week he's attempted to reach out to Mirotic to offer an apology, but his calls and texts were not returned.
But trading Mirotic would be a complicated process. By rule, the Bulls aren't allowed to trade him until Dec. 26, three months after he signed his new contract. A trade would also require some team to willingly take on Mirotic's $12.5-million contract, after the 6-10 forward couldn't get an offer sheet this summer as a restricted free agent.
It would be much easier to trade or release Portis, who is owed $1.5 million this season. The Bulls must decide by Oct. 31 whether or not to pick up Portis' option for the 2018-19 season, which would be worth $2.5 million.
Lopez has spoken to Mirotic, who is recovering at home and hasn't been around the team since the altercation occurred.
"I don't want to talk too much about what we talked about," Lopez said. "He said he was feeling better, though, wished the team well, told me to say hi to everybody."
• Follow Mike's Bulls reports on Twitter @McGrawDHBulls.