Back at full strength, Bulls return to winning formula
The Bulls were whole again Wednesday in Memphis, with Kris Dunn and Otto Porter Jr. back on the floor after they both missed Monday's loss to Milwaukee.
And they returned to the win column, beating the Grizzlies 109-107 at the FedEx Forum. The Bulls won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 5-3 since the trade with Washington.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 30 points. Lauri Markkanen shook off a slow start to produce 22 points and 10 rebounds. Porter added 20 points and 3 steals, returning from a lower leg strain that knocked him to the sideline, starting with the second half of Saturday's win over Boston.
After the game, Bulls coach Jim Boylen singled out Dunn for some extra praise. Dunn, who missed Monday's game with a migraine, had 9 points, 4 assists and 3 steals in 30 minutes of action.
"I thought Kris Dunn, this was his best half of the year, the second half tonight," Boylen told reporters in Memphis. "I thought he was poised. I thought he ran the team. I thought he was connected to everybody and I thought he made really good plays.
"He's a long, rangy dude. And when he locks into a guy (defensively), he's terrific. People feel him. He responds to coaching, so when you get on him, he usually responds pretty good. I'm just happy for him. He wants to play well, he wants to help us and I thought he did."
This game featured 20 lead changes, 15 ties and the Bulls never led by more than 8 points. They led for most of the fourth, but a big sequence came midway through the quarter. Leading by 1, LaVine drained a 3-pointer, then a steal by Porter set up a fast-break dunk from LaVine. After a Memphis miss, Porter grabbed the defensive rebound and a Markkanen layup put the Bulls ahead 93-85 with 5:16 left.
"Zach did what I hope he can do, be an efficient scorer in this league, make the correct play at the proper time with great discernment and I thought he did that," Boylen said. "I thought Zach played really well.
"(Porter) settles us down. He's poised. He makes the big shot when we need it. He gets the big steal. We're thankful for him."
Memphis had a chance to tie it in the final minute, but ex-Bull Justin Holiday missed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left. Porter and Markkanen added some free throws and Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it a 2-point game at the end.
Markkanen had just 2 points at halftime, but turned it around with 13 points in the third quarter.
"I mentioned it after the game to the whole team. Good players struggle for a quarter, struggle for a half and then they figure it out," Boylen said. "They don't play a complete bad game, a whole bad game - and I thought he did that."
The Bulls also got decent help off the bench, with Ryan Arcidiacono scoring 12 points and Shaq Harrison 10. Avery Bradley led the Grizzlies with 23 points. Joakim Noah finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls