Windy City Bulls fall to College Park, Simonovic scores 23
The Windy City Bulls, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, lost a close one to the College Park Skyhawks 116-112 on the road Saturday night. Chicago Bulls Assignment center Marko Simonovic led the charge for Windy City, recording 23 points and 9 rebounds.
Devon Dotson also came close to notching a double-double with 18 points and 9 assists for the Bulls. Ethan Thompson had an efficient night with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Chicago Bulls Two-Way forward Tyler Cook finished with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
The Bulls received an offensive spark off the bench from the trio of Daniel Oturu, Henri Drell and Perrion Callandret. Oturu chipped in 13 points and 4 rebounds. Drell put up 11 points and 5 rebounds. And Callandret finished with 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting and 6 rebounds.
For the Skyhawks, Atlanta Hawks Assignment forward Jalen Johnson finished with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds. Cat Barber also eclipsed the 20-point mark, ending with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
The Bulls scored the first two buckets of the game, but the Skyhawks immediately responded with a 31-9 run to take an 18-point lead and command of the game. But Windy City clawed back to cut the deficit to 10 points heading into the second quarter.
Windy City continued chipping away at the Skyhawks in the second period, but College Park still entered halftime leading 61-55. Simonović played a key role in keeping the Bulls in the game, scoring 14 first-half points.
The Bulls got within 3 points of the Skyhawks at multiple points in the third quarter, but College Park had an answer for every Windy City surge and entered the fourth quarter with a 7-point advantage.
College Park's lead ballooned to 12 points with 2:23 left in the fourth period, but Windy City had a furious comeback to cut the deficit to just 2 points in the final seconds. But the Bulls' comeback attempt came up just short, as Windy City fell to the Skyhawks by 4 points.
With the loss, Windy City falls to 11-15, while College Park now sits at 10-13.