The Chicago Bulls have been creeping back up toward .500 through a stretch of high-scoring wins in recent weeks — but they snapped that trend with a 132-123 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at the United Center.
The loss highlighted just how reliant the Bulls are on their scoring to outweigh their complete lack of defensive fortitude. The Pacers shot 56.5%, earning uncontested layups and painless drives into the paint as the Bulls struggled to communicate and rotate on the defensive end.
The Bulls (10-14) have scored 115 or more points in eight consecutive games — a franchise record. But the high-scoring trend still hasn’t translated to wins.
“Everybody gets frustrated when you get scored on,” guard Lonzo Ball said. “Tonight we scored 120-something and we still lost. In my opinion, we shouldn’t be doing that — 120 is enough to win.”
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
1. Offense evaporated in the second quarter
The Bulls run one of the highest-volume offenses in the NBA, so it’s a rarity to see them score fewer than 20 points in a quarter. But the Pacers shut down the Bulls in the second quarter, outscoring the hosts 36-19.
The main issue was a cold snap from behind the arc. The Bulls went 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the quarter, including three misses from Coby White, and couldn’t create any scoring at the rim or in the paint. Jalen Smith and Josh Giddey were the only players to make multiple field goals in the quarter.
“That second quarter for us … that was a huge difference in the game,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I didn’t love some of the shots in the second quarter quite honestly. I thought we got bogged down. I thought we were very static. I didn’t think we got a lot of penetration. I didn’t think we got downhill. I think their versatility of switching and being physical and blowing up screens — I think all that contributed to us not shooting the ball particularly well in that second quarter.”
The Bulls finished 21-for-50 (42%) from 3-point range, another reflection of the new normal for a team that lives and dies from behind the arc. Giddey notably finished 0-for-6 from 3-point range as the guard continues to flounder from long range, often taking uncontested 3s as opponents opt to leave him unguarded.
Zach LaVine was the lone constant for the Bulls, scoring 32 points while going 5-for-9 from behind the arc. But even his impact was limited as the Bulls offense struggled to find its typical rhythm.
2. A rare off night for Nikola Vučević
A crucial piece of slowing down that offensive force from the Bulls was to eliminate Vučević, who had dropped 39 points on the Spurs the night before in San Antonio.
The Pacers frontcourt provided a different challenge for Vučević, with Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin creating a versatile rotation in the paint on both sides of the ball. As a result, Indiana could switch Vučević readily to keep the ball out of his hands. And as the Bulls offense stagnated in the first half, they struggled to hit Vučević down low, which became a self-perpetuating issue.
Vučević still finished with 13 points after shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range, falling just shy of another double-double with nine rebounds. But his lack of presence on the offensive boards and lack of facilitating through the paint left the Bulls without the standard level of support from their center.
3. Lonzo Ball continued to trend upward
A lone bright spot for the Bulls in the loss was the continued comfort of Ball, who logged nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range while adding four assists, a block and a steal in 17 minutes, 14 seconds on the court.
The stat sheet doesn’t fully capture the ease with which Ball has slotted back into the lineup. He bodies up to opponents on offense, navigates screens with alacrity and creates passes in both the open floor and the half court that elevate the Bulls to a different level of basketball intelligence. And the guard is continuing to feel comfortable on his left knee after missing the past 2½ seasons, a positive sign as he hopes to return to unrestricted playing time by the end of the season.
Ball checked back into the game with just less than five minutes left but exited a minute later to stay under his hard cap — a restriction that has been somewhat stricter after both Ball and Donovan took a little heat from the Bulls medical staff for making the in-game decision to break his minutes restriction against the Boston Celtics last week.
4. Matas Buzelis played masked crusader
The rookie played with a lightweight face mask on Friday after leaving Thursday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs with a bruised nose created by taking an accidental elbow to the face from LaVine. The bleeding from the impact was so prolific that LaVine said he was worried he actually broke Buzelis’ nose, although scans showed that the rookie did not suffer any structural damage.
Buzelis finished 2-for-3 from behind the arc but he did not land another shot and visibly shied away from attempting a contested dunk in the third quarter. After the game, Buzelis said the mask restricted his vision and created added discomfort that he hopes to avoid in the future.
“I’m not wearing that thing again,” Buzelis said jokingly.
