'Melo shows cold-shooting Bulls how it's done
If the Bulls thought they were ready to graduate from beating bad Eastern Conference teams to beating a bad Western Conference team, they were sadly mistaken.
Portland's not bad, really. The Blazers were in the West finals last season but started the night with a worse record than the Bulls.
There was no misidentifying the better team on this night, though, as the Bulls were clobbered 117-94 in a game that was never competitive after halftime.
Portland had more shooters, more defense and the ultimate weapon in Carmelo Anthony. Coaxed out of semiretirement two weeks ago, Anthony had his best game as a Blazer, scoring 25 points. Fans at the United Center cheered every basket. During the fourth quarter, they chanted, 'We want Melo," for a bit, but the Portland starters were relaxing on the bench.
"From fans that are Chicago Bulls fans, that's a big moment to hear that chant," Anthony said. "With me on a whole other team, those fans didn't have to do that."
Anthony was actually a member of the Bulls for 10 days last season, although he never set foot in the Advocate Center. Houston paid the Bulls to take his contract off their hands and they released him 10 days later. Would he have played if the Bulls invited him to?
"They didn't ask," he said with a smile. "I think at that point in time, it was just like, 'OK, we'll do it just to do it.' There was no conversation."
Coming off his career-high 49-point game Saturday at Charlotte, Zach LaVine scored 18 points and 5 assists, hitting 1 of 5 shots from 3-point range.
"I try to play it the right way," LaVine said. "They were doubling me off all pick-and-rolls. I kept finding the open man. I always try to bring something into the game to get us going. Tonight just wasn't it. We need to get out in transition more."
This was a particularly painful night for the Bulls' offense. They'd work every possession and make extra passes to set up a good look from the 3-point line and - clang - would usually miss.
The Bulls finished the night shooting 23.1 percent from behind the 3-point line, including a robust 2-for-18 in the second half. They also were outrebounded 55-37.
"We made 22 (3-pointers) Saturday night. Tonight we made 9," Bulls coach Jim Boylen said. "It would be great if we could count on 14 or 15 made 3s with the number we shoot and we've been inconsistent that way."
Coby White got to play against former North Carolina teammate Nasir Little, but it didn't inspire him to a good shooting night. He went 3-for-13 from the field for 8 points.
Denzel Valentine got some first-half playing time for a change and hit a 3-pointer just nine seconds after taking the floor. That was his only made 3, though, and he finished with 11 points.
The Bulls are 3-7 this season at the United Center. A better home record was supposed to be a point of emphasis.
"It's tough. We're not showing up and defending home court," LaVine said. "Eventually the fans get mad at you and you can feel it start to switch over a little bit."
The highlight of the night from the Bulls' side probably was Boylen winning a coach's challenge early in the first quarter, turning a charging foul by Wendell Carter Jr. into a block call and 2 made free throws.
Former Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon sat courtside and probably could have helped. Another local shooting star, Hersey Hawkins, was on hand with Portland's broadcast team.
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