Dunn makes Chicago Bulls debut in blowout loss to OKC
The Chicago Bulls are bringing out the stars of the rebuild one at a time.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen was the only healthy building block when the season began and he's off to a good start.
On Saturday night, point guard Kris Dunn made his Bulls debut after missing three weeks with a dislocated left index finger. Dunn showed rust early, played a little better as the game went on, and there wasn't much else to talk about as the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 101-69 victory at the United Center.
Dunn finished with 8 points, 5 fouls, 4 turnovers, 3 steals and 3 assists. Markkanen led the Bulls with 15 points. The third player acquired in the Jimmy Butler trade, Zach LaVine, is still recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee.
After the 32-point drubbing, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was not happy at his postgame news conference.
"We took a huge step in the wrong direction tonight," Hoiberg said. "We didn't compete, we didn't stay together, we didn't fight through adversity as a team, we were careless, we were stagnant. They got the loose balls. That cannot happen with this group.
"It's very disappointing coming off the encouraging win against Atlanta by doing all the little things, by winning the 50-50 battles, by dominating the glass. We had none of that tonight and our body language (stunk). When things weren't going well, we dropped our heads and just kind of gave in; you can't do that as a young team."
Another problem was shot distribution. Markkanen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game, then took just 1 more shot in the first half.
"Yeah, we missed him on several occasions," Hoiberg said. "He was standing out there by himself and we tried to take extra dribbles and get through small spaces and turned the ball over. When Lauri's got it going like that, we've got to make a point to get him shots."
The Bulls (1-4) had another high turnover game, finishing with 20. Five different players finished with 3 or 4 turnovers, and there's not much Markkanen can do by himself to get more shots.
"I'm doing what's best for our team," Markkanen said. "If I'm open, I'm going to shoot it and try to make the right play every time. Whatever I can do."
Carmelo Anthony (21 points) and Paul George (20) were the top scorers for the Thunder, which led 50-31 at halftime. The Bulls managed just 8 points during the second quarter, their fewest in a quarter since 2003.
As of Saturday morning, OKC star Russell Westbrook had completed at least one triple-double against every NBA team except the Bulls. That distinction came to an end Saturday when Westbrook piled up 12 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds in just 28 minutes of action.
Dunn made his first appearance at the 3:30 mark of the first quarter. Midway through the fourth, he aggravated the finger injury when he fell to the ground and the pad covering his finger flew off. Dunn didn't return but thinks he will be fine by Wednesday, when the Bulls travel to Miami.
"I didn't get too many practices in before this game, so I knew I was going to go out there and play a little rusty," Dunn said. "But I think the thing that helped me was just playing hard, try to get my guys the ball, just have fun with it. I'm happy to be back out there."
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