After narrow loss to Lakers, Bulls have nothing left for Utah
Making the playoffs isn't a realistic goal for the Bulls this season, so they'll have to settle for helpful learning experiences in the early stages of rebuilding.
On Tuesday in Los Angeles, the Bulls got a chance to feel some late-game pressure and didn't handle it well. They squandered a 19-point lead in the third quarter and lost to the Lakers 103-94.
A day later, the rebuilding Bulls had to contend with one of those unfriendly staples of the NBA schedule - the back-to-back game on the road against a rested team. This one happened to be at high altitude, as well.
The Bulls hung close for a while, but were buried in the second half and lost to Utah 110-80. Nobody played particularly well for the Bulls, but center Robin Lopez led the team with 15 points, while Bobby Portis added 14 off the bench.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen had his worst game of the season, hitting just 1 of 9 shots for 3 points.
The Bulls (3-13) did not bring their shooting touch to Salt Lake City, going 3-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half and 5-for-21 overall. Still, they were within 47-44 with 2:26 left in the second quarter following a Kris Dunn layup. The Jazz finished the first half with a quick surge and took a 55-46 advantage into intermission.
Early in the third quarter, Utah's Jonas Jerebko and Joe Ingles hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 67-53 and the Bulls never recovered.
After a team Thanksgiving, the Bulls will finish their brief four-game road trip on Friday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
Tuesday's game created sort of a minor moral dilemma for fans. Should they be upset the Bulls blew a big lead or take it all in stride knowing the rebuild needs another high draft pick in 2018?
"I couldn't have been happier with the way we came out of the gate and got the ball down the floor in a hurry," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters after the game. "We played unselfishly, found the open man. We played the right way those first 24 minutes."
The second half was a combination of the Bulls not doing all those things right and the Lakers realizing they needed to pick up the pace to avoid dropping a very winnable game.
The game in Los Angeles featured a few positive signs for the rebuild. Kris Dunn formally took over the starting point guard spot, probably for good. Dunn has been playing better, but proved again at Utah he has a long way to go when it comes to cutting down his mistakes.
Denzel Valentine had a good start against the Lakers and may be inching toward becoming a dependable scorer. Reserve guard Antonio Blakeney went off in the first half, scoring 15 points. He supplied the NBA's highlight of the night with his fast-break slam over Julius Randle and added a technical foul for taunting. Blakeney didn't score in the second half, but his ability to take on the role of providing instant offense is intriguing.
Valentine scored just 2 points against Utah, while Blakeney had 8.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls