Struck by Thunder: Bulls lose after late collapse
Back in 1990, AC/DC wrote a song about this night.
The Bulls were cruising along comfortably in Oklahoma City on Friday. After an impressive first half, they led by 22 points early in the third quarter and by 16 with just 4:40 remaining.
After that, well, the Bulls reverted to being a young team that doesn't know how to win. A 19-3 run to close the fourth quarter, one too many uncontested 3-pointers in overtime and the Bulls were Thunderstruck by a stunning 127-125 loss.
There have been plenty of rotten losses during the rebuild and beyond, but it's hard to remember a game when the Bulls were in total control for so long and fumbled away a win.
"We were playing extremely well and we just folded, we straight up folded," Zach LaVine said. "As an entire organization, we've got to do better, because we can't lose that game."
This certainly is not the Bulls' favorite NBA arena. Last year, with Billy Donovan coaching the Thunder, the Bulls squandered a 23-point, third-quarter advantage.
"I've got to do a better job of finding a way to help these guys," Donovan said. "I think these guys are bright guys, they're smart guys. They know a lot of this stuff is self-induced. I thought it was all on us, personally. That's what I felt. I felt like we kept turning the ball over and could not generate and get into offense."
The stat sheet looked pretty good for the Bulls (4-8), as long as you ignored the 24 turnovers. LaVine stayed hot with 35 points, while hitting 8 of 14 looks from long range. But he missed 3-pointers at the end of regulation and overtime that would have won the game.
Coby White finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Wendell Carter Jr. collected his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen added 16 points and Patrick Williams had 14.
The first half featured beautiful basketball, especially by recent Bulls standards. They stayed perfectly spaced, moved the ball with precision and produced an efficient, balanced offense. At halftime, the Bulls were shooting 56 percent from the field, had four scorers in double figures and led by 18 points.
After the lead grew to 22 points in the third quarter, the Bulls reverted to old habits and a flurry of turnovers led to a 25-5 run and the Thunder rumbled within 2 points. But the Bulls got back on course, led 115-99 when LaVine knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:40 left and the game was about as over as Oklahoma is flat.
But while giving up the 19-3 run, the Bulls turned it over five more times and missed a free throw. In the final minute of the fourth quarter, which began with the Bulls up by 5, LaVine lost control of his dribble, then both White and Markkanen were called for illegal screens. A driving lay in and 3-point play by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points) with 16.4 seconds left tied the game.
"We were up 20 points, we've got to win that game," LaVine said. "We've got to learn how to pull games out. I've got to do a better job. I've got to cut down my turnovers. I've got to make some better plays. We're all in this together, but it's tough."
The Thunder scored the first 5 points of overtime, but White's 3-pointer with 1:47 left brought the Bulls within 123-122. The Bulls gave up an open 3 to Mike Muscala with 52.7 seconds left that essentially sealed the outcome, although LaVine's 3 at the end could have won it.
"As they got closer, they really turned up the heat defensively," Donovan said. "We had a really, really hard time getting into offense and getting off screens. I thought their physicality at the point of the screen really blew things up.
"Obviously, I've got to find better ways to try to help those guys try to initiate some kind of offense, because we couldn't get to anything, couldn't get into anything."
Markkanen played for the first time since being sidelined for seven days due to health and safety protocols. Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono were sent to quarantine because of a dinner with Chandler Hutchison, who tested positive for COVID-19 during a road trip to Washington two weeks ago. Arcidiacono was available, but did not play.
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