It took four years, but Bulls starting to show progress
It's taken a long time, but the Bulls appeared to show some actual growth and progress in the rebuilding process on Tuesday night.
They trailed Portland by 20 points in the second quarter, but stuck with it and pulled out a 111-108 victory over the Blazers. After an 0-3 start to the season, the Bulls' record is now even at 4-4 heading into Wednesday's game in Sacramento.
"Honestly this team did a heck of a job of just staying poised down the stretch," forward Thad Young said after the game. "We're going to use this as a building block. It's big, Portland is a good team. We started the road trip out how we're supposed to."
The first lesson learned is it's a long game. The Blazers knocked down 8 of 15 shots from 3-point range in the opening quarter and jumped out to a 39-21 lead after 12 minutes. A blowout was in progress, or so it seemed.
The Bulls took advantage of Portland's weaker second string, challenged the 3-point shooters and slowly got back into the game. By the end of the night, the Bulls actually shot a higher percentage from 3-point range (16 for 41) than the Blazers (19 for 51).
"There's generally about a 23-point swing in NBA games with a team being up 11 or 12 points and being down 11 or 12 points," coach Billy Donovan said. "You have to be able to work through those situations as a team.
"And I think when that adversity hits and there are momentum swings, it's no reason to hang your head and get down. It's part of the game. And we've got to be able to compete through those moments."
The Bulls actually turned things around pretty quickly, winning the second quarter 24-15. They were able to keep Portland's scorers under control. C.J. McCollum delivered 26 points, while Damian Lillard hit just 6 of 17 shots, finishing with 24 points and 9 assists.
The Bulls backcourt showed some versatility in this contest. Zach LaVine didn't score in the first quarter, but finished with 18 points and 9 assists. Coby White led the Bulls with 21 points and chased down 10 rebounds.
After the game, LaVine mentioned he's been playing through a shoulder issue. But the injury didn't prevent him from knocking down the clinching 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds left.
"It's just been a little nagging thing," LaVine said. "But if you see me out there, I'm OK."
Donovan continued to rely heavily on the team's veterans. Contributions from Otto Porter were missing last season, but he had 19 points and 13 rebounds in Portland, along with a key offensive rebound late in the final minute. Garrett Temple scored a season-high 14 points, hitting 4 of 9 3-point shots.
But the Bulls also got some good fourth-quarter minutes from younger guys like Wendell Carter Jr., rookie Patrick Williams and Denzel Valentine. Williams hit the tying basket on a floater with 4:12 left, then Carter put the Bulls ahead for good with 2 free throws. Valentine led the team in plus-minus without scoring a point.
But the overall lesson continues to be how LaVine and White can elevate their games with help from more experienced players. In the past, the Bulls were trying to win games with five young players on the floor in the fourth quarter, which is not an effective formula to win games.
"I think you learn from your mistakes over the years," LaVine said. "It's a different mentality that we have this year. Even with the losses that we have, I think that we're learning from them. I'm excited to see how we come out (against Sacramento), but we did a good job of fighting back."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls