Bulls flip script, rally for unlikely OT win at Washington
The Bulls have watched plenty of other teams crawl off the mat and recover from big deficits to win close games this season.
They decided to try it themselves on Wednesday in Washington. After trailing by 18 points with 8:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bulls rallied to beat the Wizards 110-109 in overtime.
Just two days earlier, the Bulls squandered a 26-point lead and lost a heartbreaker in Oklahoma City. It was the seventh time this season they lost after building a double-digit lead.
“When it comes to the league, you've got to will yourself to win,” Kris Dunn told reporters after the game. “Last game it happened to us. We've been working hard, staying positive and we did it back to them. It feels good to get a win, but now we have to carry that momentum into Detroit (Saturday).”
The decisive possessions in overtime saw Zach LaVine drive into the lane and dish it to Wendell Carter Jr. for a go-ahead lay-in with 9.1 seconds left.
Since Kris Dunn fouled out seconds earlier, Shaq Harrison came in to check Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal. Harrison forced a step-back jumper from about 13 feet as Carter jumped to challenge the shot, which clanged off the front rim as time expired.
Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls (11-19) with 31 points, his first 30-point effort since opening night. LaVine finished with 24 points, Tomas Satoransky had 17 against his former team and Dunn added 15, one short of his season-high.
Davis Bertans led Washington with 26 points and buried 7 of 13 shots from 3-point range. Dunn did pretty good work on Beal defensively, limiting the Wizards' top scorer to 22 points on 4 of 19 shooting.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulls trailed 96-84 with less than 4 minutes remaining, then used a 12-0 run to tie the score. A 3-pointer by LaVine closed the margin to 96-93 with 1:34 left. Markkanen and LaVine each missed 3-point shots that could have tied the score.
Given one more chance, LaVine was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer by Bertans with 5.5 seconds on the clock. LaVine calmly swished all three free throws to tie the score.
“The defense changed the game for us, our energy changed,” coach Jim Boylen said. “I thought Zach LaVine's decision-making as outstanding — when to shoot, when to pass. I thought KD's defense on Beal was as good as it could be.”
At that point, the Bulls had held Washington scoreless for nearly five minutes, but Beal hit a 16-foot step-back jumper over Dunn to put the Wizards ahead with 0.5 seconds left.
The next play was very similar to the decisive foul that went against the Bulls when they lost in Oklahoma City on Monday. They tried a lob to LaVine but he was grabbed and held by Wizards forward Isaac Bonga. It was an obvious foul and LaVine hit two more clutch free throws to force overtime. In OKC, Carter was called for grabbing Steven Adams on an inbounds lob with 2 seconds left.
Even though Washington (8-18) gives up the most points in the NBA, the Bulls struggled to score for most of this game. It seemed like they tried too hard to attack mismatches and got away from the ball movement that makes their offense click.
“I feel like we're getting better and we're growing as a group,” Boylen said. “Sometimes when you don't win, that gets lost. I still think we're growing and getting better as a group, coming together as a family and a good team. Tonight we hung in there on a night when maybe for three quarters we weren't very good, but we made enough plays to win.”
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls