Bulls clamp down on defense to produce season's first win streak
If nothing else, you can say Jim Boylen has done an effective job of putting his stamp on the Bulls.
He wanted better effort on defense and the players have delivered. Sunday's 112-92 victory at Cleveland was the fifth time in six games the Bulls held an opponent below 100 points.
He wanted more shots for Lauri Markkanen and the 7-footer from Finland delivered his second-straight 30-point game. Markkanen finished with 31 points against the Cavs in 32 minutes of action. He hit 5 of 10 shots from 3-point land and 11 of 18 overall.
"We just try to go out and play hard every day, whether it's a practice or game days," Markkanen told reporters after the game. "I think that part is a little bit more together and I think we're having fun playing basketball."
The Bulls kept their turnovers down and won the rebounding battle, a couple more persistent problems this season. The starting backcourt of Kris Dunn and Ryan Arcidiacono combined for 15 assists and 1 turnover.
The Bulls trailed 59-54 at halftime, then limited Cleveland to just 33 points on 34 percent shooting in the second half. Markkanen scored 14 points in the third quarter when the Bulls outscored the Cavs 30-15.
"That was our focus at halftime, that we needed to play better defense as a unit and I thought we did," Boylen said. "I thought Shaq (Harrison's) defense and Justin (Holiday's) defense on Jordan Clarkson was extraordinary. He's a difficult guy to guard, he plays the game so easy. We felt we had to turn him off to have a chance to win the game."
Boylen had an interesting take on Markkanen, who admitted he's starting to get his legs back after missing the first 23 games of the season with a sprained right elbow.
"We can feel it that he has that confidence," Boylen said. "When he gets dialed in at that big, he can see over people. I think he had it locked in pretty good. When your heart's pure, good things happen for you and his heart's pure."
Holiday got his 3-point shot back on track, going 3-for-5 while scoring 15 points. Dunn finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while hitting 8 of 11 shots.
The Bulls (9-25) won for the third time in the last five games and posted their first win streak of the season with Sunday's victory. Whether that's good news or bad won't be known until later on.
"We just kind of take it one day at a time," Boylen said. "We're direct and honest every day. We talk about the same things. We've kept our message consistent on what we believe in and what I hope we can become. You've got to give the guys credit. They're coachable, teachable and they're becoming reliable, and it's fun."
Jabari Parker did not play, even though he was available after coming back from a stomach virus. That's not surprising, considering the amount of praise Boylen has given to rookie Chandler Hutchison, who played 32 minutes. Parker has not played in the last five games.
"He needs to lock into practicing hard, playing hard and honoring the values of the team, which I have set forth for the team," Boylen said before the game of Parker. "Every day is an opportunity to do that. Every guy has to do that, not just him."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls