Markkanen scores 32 as Bulls beat Orlando
After his scoring total skyrocketed to a season-high 32 points Friday, Lauri Markkanen pulled on a shirt that read "NASA" across the front.
Was he long-distance trolling Steph Curry, who said recently he thought the moon landing was fake, then claimed he was kidding. Anything to say about the moon landing, Lauri?
"If you ask me about that, I'll have to say I don't speak English," Markkanen joked.
Science aside, the Bulls' 90-80 victory over the Orlando Magic at the United Center proved they're capable of following instructions.
In a loss to Brooklyn two days prior, Markkanen started out hot, then took just 1 shot during the final three quarters. On Friday, Markkanen went 1-for-7 in the first quarter and finished by knocking down 11 of his last 13. He even got a technical foul for taunting after he dunked over Orlando center Nikola Vucevic.
This seems to be what the Bulls need right now. With top scorer Zach LaVine sidelined by a sprained ankle, Markkanen should be trying every night to be the team's alpha scorer.
"I think we have a really talented team," Markkanen said. "We have multiple guys that can do that. So if Zach's out and I'm missing my shots, Kris Dunn's going to take care of it. We have plenty of guys who can do that."
The Magic (14-17) shot just 32.6 percent from the field, the Bulls won the rebounding battle and took care of the ball. Starting guards Dunn and Ryan Arcidiacono combined for 15 assists and 2 turnovers. Coach Jim Boylen made a point of praising Dunn's performance.
"I thought he had command of what I want," Boylen said. "We had great synergy. I felt like I had a captain out there, a leader out there with him. I'm really happy for that. That's something we've been talking about and working on."
Dunn took a team-high 21 shots against Brooklyn and scored 24 points. After this victory, he expressed a preference for high-assist games.
"I'm a pass-first point guard," Dunn said. "That helps me with my game to get other guys going. It was good to get Lauri going. Now we need to get Justin (Holiday) going."
Holiday went 0-for-5 from 3-point range, ending his franchise-record streak of 43-straight games with a 3-pointer, running into last season. It was also the NBA's longest active streak.
Peppered with questions about how the Bulls moved Markkanen around and got him the ball more often, Boylen finally delivered a plea for understanding.
"Guys, we've had a lot of moving parts," Boylen said. "We've got a lot of new people playing and we've got people coming back and people going out. Shaq (Harrison's) playing big minutes and AB (Antonio Blakeney) played tonight. As much as we'd like to understand who it is and what it is, I think it's going to take a little time."
The Bulls (8-25) led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, but the Magic made a run while the Bulls missed five straight shots. They finally got the ball to Markkanen and he hit a fadeaway near the foul line to make it 87-80 with 40.8 seconds left.
"I got to the middle and I think that's a pretty easy shot for me that close to the rim," said Markkanen, who played his 10th game of the season after recovering from a sprained right elbow. "Not much to say."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls