Bulls end 0-4 road trip with blowout loss to Warriors
With the Bulls in town, Golden State coach Steve Kerr decided the time was right to rest a couple of his starters, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
In theory, two missing starters improved the Bulls' chances of hanging around against the defending champs. But the absent players provided a chance for two-time MVP Steph Curry to take on a greater scoring load.
After a promising first quarter by the Bulls, Curry poured in 26 points during the second quarter. He had 31 points by halftime, rested most of the second half and the Warriors rolled past the Bulls 143-94. It was the third-worst margin of victory in Bulls history.
The Bulls (3-14) actually led 32-29 after the first quarter, shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Denzel Valentine got off to a fast start with 10 points in the opening quarter. But all the Bulls cooled off in the second, when they were outscored by Golden State 45-21. It was the most points given up by the Bulls in a quarter since 1985 and the Bulls were outscored 81-34 in the middle two quarters.
Jerian Grant hit 8 of 10 shots and led the Bulls with 21 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, but hit just 4 of 16 attempts. Curry finished with 33 points, while Klay Thompson scored 29.
Durant had been slowed by an ankle injury and was listed as questionable before Wednesday's loss at Oklahoma City. Durant decided to play against his former team, so it made sense for him to sit this one out. Green was not listed with an injury before Friday's game.The Warriors promoted Omri Casspi and Jordan Bell to the starting lineup. As Bulls fans are well aware, Golden State acquired Bell, a power forward from Oregon, by buying a second-round draft pick from the Bulls for $3.5 million. At the time, Bulls vice president John Paxson said there was concern anyone they chose with the No. 38 overall pick wouldn't make the team.
Bell has turned in a few nice highlights this season and Friday's game was no exception, as the rookie blocked a shot by Robin Lopez in the first quarter, then chased down Valentine in the third quarter to swat a fast-break lay in. Bell finished with 6 blocks and 7 points against the Bulls.
Overall, Bell is averaging just 3.2 points in 8.3 minutes per game this season, which is understandable for a second-round pick playing for a good team. Before the game, Bell said it wasn't a big deal to him playing against the Bulls.
"(The Bulls) made it clear they didn't want me," Bell told reporters at Oracle Arena. "I don't take it to heart like everybody else is taking it. It's just fans being fans. (The Bulls) were in a rebuild, so I guess I would have probably helped them win a little bit more than they wanted to. I take it as a positive."
The Bulls went 0-4 on their abbreviated Thanksgiving road trip, finishing with blowouts against Utah and Golden State.
There won't be much time to regroup since the Bulls will host Miami for a rare Sunday afternoon game.