Shorthanded Bulls pull out high-scoring win in Washington
The good news for the Bulls is they completed a two-game sweep of the Washington Wizards, using some clutch plays down the stretch to pull out a fast-paced 133-130 victory on Thursday.
The bad news is they lost four players to health and safety protocols. Lauri Markkanen, Tomas Satoransky, Ryan Arcidiacono and Chandler Hutchison all missed the game and are out indefinitely. The exact details of why they need to quarantine are unclear.
The Bulls play again Friday in Milwaukee and coach Billy Donovan confirmed those four players would not be traveling with the team. When Satoransky and Devon Dotson had to quarantine due to contact tracing in preseason, they were out for 10 days.
The Bulls have more depth this season and specifically, better veteran depth. They had seven players in double figures for the second straight game, led by Otto Porter with 28 points.
That's the most points scored by Porter since Mar. 1, 2019 when he had 31 in 54 minutes during the crazy four-overtime game in Atlanta. This type of result has been overdue, since Porter spent most of last season out with a foot injury.
"I think with my process the last couple years of being hurt and having to work my way back, it just shows that hard work really does pay off," Porter said after the game. "For me, being healthy is something that I've been working on all summer just trying to stay healthy where I can be out there with my teammates playing and providing my leadership."
Forward Thad Young made his season debut after recovering from a leg infection and scored 15 points in 27 minutes. He, Porter and Garrett Temple were usually on the floor in crunchtime with Zach LaVine (22 points) and Coby White (16 points, 10 assists).
"The crazy part is I've only played 5-on-5 like one time in the past month, so I was actually shocked myself that my rhythm and timing was still there," Young said.
The Bulls (2-3) took the lead for good at 129-128 on a pair of White free throws with 1:01 remaining. In the final minute, LaVine blocked Russell Westbrook's shot after a spinning drive in the lane. Then Bradley Beal had an open path to the basket after a nice give-and-go play off an inbound pass, but he lost control of the ball at the rim with 14.2 seconds left.
Perhaps White sliding over to passively contest the shot helped force the miss. White was credited with a blocked shot by the stat crew, but replays showed Beal clearly lost the ball on his own, while White was careful not to foul. Porter and LaVine sealed the win with 2 free throws each.
Backup center Daniel Gafford was another standout with 15 points and 5 rebounds. The Bulls finished with 34 assists
The Bulls will play tougher opponents - Washington dropped to 0-5 - but they've come a long way since opening the season with two blowout losses.
"I think this team is being tired of being labeled losers and underachieving," LaVine said. "Everything's not going to be perfect. We're not going to go out there and win every game, but I think our demeanor has been a lot better than it has been the last couple of years."
Life on the road is challenging this season. The Bulls had a lot of time to kill during their three days in Washington, but couldn't really go anywhere. Apparently, four teammates happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up in quarantine.
"A lot of face-time calls with my fiance and a lot of video games," LaVine said. "Watched some film, do some treatment, but it's a lot of down time, man. A lot of room service. You get used to those four walls in your room or that TV screen."
Young said he tried to aid his social distancing by creating his own recovery area inside his hotel room.
"So I don't have to actually go to the training room all the time and kind of have to deal with a lot of people," Young said.
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