The Chicago Bulls snapped a short losing skid with a decisive 130-113 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
It was a season-high in scoring for the Bulls as eight players scored in double digits. Zach LaVine logged 24 points and DeMar DeRozan added 21 points while Coby White dished out eight assists.
Here are six takeaways from the game:
1. Bulls capitalize on Jazz mistakes
One single scoring margin set the tone for the entire game — points off turnovers.
The Bulls dominated this category, taking advantage of a plentiful supply of Utah mistakes. The Jazz turned the ball over 22 times resulting in 30 points. The Bulls turned the ball over eight times, but the Jazz only scored one point off those mistakes.
Scoring off opponent mistakes had already been a strong suit for the Bulls, who averaged 19 points (11th in the NBA) off turnovers entering Monday’s game. But this was their most clinical display of making an opponent pay for their errors.
2. Heating up behind the arc
The Bulls have not been a strong 3-point shooting team this season, shooting at a 34% clip in their first seven games. But Monday the shooting scales began to tip in their favor as the offense finished 18-for-34 from behind the arc. White went 4-for-6 from 3-point range and Jevon Carter went 4-for-8 from behind the arc.
The total tally of 3-point attempts reflected improvement upon the team’s goal to take more 3-pointers this season, especially in a game dominated by open-court play.
3. Lauri Markkanen stood out against his former team
The one bright spot for the Jazz was Lauri Markkanen, who dished out another explosive performance against his former team.
Markkanen was drafted No. 7 in the 2017 draft, then acquired by the Bulls in the same trade that brought Zach LaVine to Chicago. He struggled with a stagnant start to his career with the Bulls and watched his scoring numbers dwindle in a frustrating stretch from 2019 to 2021, when he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But in Utah, Markkanen has found himself. He earned his first All-Star selection last year while averaging 25.6 points, forging an identity as one of the most efficient scorers in the league.
Markkanen led the Jazz with 29 points Monday, adding five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
“You knew how good he was when he was here, and then you really didn’t get to see how good he was until he left,” LaVine said. “It’s unfortunate but I’m so happy for him and his career and his development and the type of person he is. We still talk and text to this day. It’s great to see the man he’s become.”
4. Jevon Carter leads the bench unit
Carter continues to bring an immediate lift to the Bulls off the bench as the primary guard of the secondary rotation.
Carter scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, taking all of his shots against the Jazz from behind the 3-point arc.
He was the defensive marshal of the bench unit as they pressured the Jazz along the perimeter to force errors, then immediately pushed the pace in the open court once a turnover occurred.
5. Andre Drummond records 10,000th career rebound
Andre Drummond etched himself into the league’s history books in the first half of Monday’s game as he recorded his 10,000th career rebound.
Drummond is the 43rd player in NBA history to record 10,000 or more rebounds in his career — and one of only three active NBA players alongside DeAndre Jordan and LeBron James. Pau Gasol and Dennis Rodman are the only other players to reach the milestone while playing for the Bulls.
Drummond finished the game with seven rebounds.
6. Alex Caruso plays through a bruised right arm
Alex Caruso played a normal rotation while he continued to nurse a bruised right arm, which he originally banged up after a hard collision while completing a dunk in Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
The injury was enough to keep Caruso out of the remainder of Saturday’s game. He attempted to return for one minute, but coach Billy Donovan quickly pulled him when it became clear Caruso was still playing through pain.
Leave a Reply