Bulls start fast, LaVine finds touch in win over Pacers
What is the most important element to a basketball team starting fast: A little extra shooting practice or a defensively-challenged opponent?
The Bulls finished Tuesday's practice with a 3-point contest. It featured just a portion of the team, but the winner was third-string center Tony Bradley.
A day later, the Bulls drained 4 shots from 3-point range in the opening three minutes on the way to a 124-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the United Center.
The game featured a return to form for Zach LaVine, who scored 28 points and hit 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range. He missed a few chances to hit 30, but after missing the first two games of the season due to injury management, it was a good sign.
"That (contest) might have helped me get in rhythm a little bit," LaVine said. "Trying to be aggressive at the 3-point line. We don't have the most high volume 3-point shooting. I said coming into training camp, I'm going to try to at least jump-start that a little bit."
Lavine said he was part of the 3-point contest and still seemed to be in disbelief at the result.
"I was winning until the end," he said. "We're going to run it back tomorrow, see if he wins. I'm going to have Vuc (Nikola Vucevic) compete this time. We've got to put some pressure on Tony."
In the first three minutes against the Pacers, the Bulls had Patrick Williams, Vucevic and LaVine (twice) knock down 3-pointers. This is a team that ranked 23rd in the league in overall 3-point percentage heading into Wednesday's action.
In the first three games of the season, the Bulls shot 24% from 3-point range during the first quarter, then improved to 3 of 4 during Monday's brutally slow start against Boston.
"That to me was very encouraging," coach Billy Donovan said. "It was on both ends, it wasn't like we were trading baskets. It was nice to get ahead after the first six minutes."
The Pacers ranked last in the NBA in first quarter defense, giving up an average of 35 points. The 76 points scored by the Bulls in the first half was the highest total since they piled up 81 in a late-season game at Milwaukee in 2008.
It wasn't over, though, even after the Bulls pulled out to a 24-point lead in the second quarter. During a five-minute stretch of the third, the Pacers hit 7 of 9 3-pointers, sparking a run that cut a 20-point deficit all the way to 95-91.
The "vet mob" of Andre Drummond (13 rebounds) and Goran Dragic (13 points) helped push the Bulls back to a comfortable advantage. Dragic went 3-for-3 from long range and Donovan praised the 36-year-old Slovenia native after the game.
"He's really smart," Donovan said. "I liken it to Chris Paul, being with him in Oklahoma City. I love the communication with him, in terms of what he's seeing and talking in general. He's got such a high IQ. He's a unique guy, with his experience. Here's a guy that played with Steve Nash in Phoenix."
Donovan stuck with the 11-man rotation and managed to find at least 10 minutes for all 11 players.
"I think all these guys are good," he said. "We've got depth and we've got a lot of really interchangeable parts. Patrick (Williams), Alex Caruso, DJ (Derrick Jones Jr.), Javonte (Green), they give us a lot of different looks.
"I give our guys credit, there are times when some of these rotations could be two, three, four five minutes and they're off. They've all stayed engaged and have tried to contribute any way they can."
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for the Bulls. Buddy Hield scored 25 points and went 7 of 12 from long range for Indiana (1-4).
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