The Bulls demonstrate against the Clippers
The Clippers then managed to pull away with their sixth straight win dear match in Washington against inexperienced sorcerers. The Bulls called their turn last night by hitting them so hard before halftime that Tyronn Lue’s men couldn’t answer.
With the Dan-Collins tandem, James Harden did everything necessary to bring his team to the lead after 12 minutes (27-30). What followed was much more complicated! Chicago suddenly woke up thanks to a fierce alley-oop that was concluded by Matas Bouzelis then Nikola Vucevic’s authoritarian dunk! Enough for 11-0 that set the tone for the rest (47-37). After two 3-point baskets by Ayo Dosunmu in quick succession, Matas Bouzelis followed it up by scoring 8 points including two long shots to increase the deficit to +21 at halftime (70-49).
Everyone shines in Chicago
Aware of their striking power, the Clippers did not give in to panic, but tried to start a comeback at the beginning of the third quarter. The Californians brought out heavy artillery, between three-pointers by John Collins, Kobe Saunders and James Harden (61-76), then a hot shot by John Collins, the author of 8 points from the line, including two outside baskets and an ale-oop served by Ivica Zubac. Enough to bring LA within six lengths (80-74)!
But Chicago got going again, this time on a 13-0 run as a reward for the gritty defense of Billy Donovan’s men. In addition to Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu and Jalen Smith, Matas Buzelis caught fire again with a 3-pointer and another powerful shot. And in the blink of an eye, the Bulls are back to +20 (97-77).
This time, the Clippers were no longer able to return the pressure. On the contrary! Euphoric, Billy Donovan’s men continued their demonstration, fueled by mad 3-point skill. Ajo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic showed the way before handing the baton to Kobi White who offered himself 4/4 from behind the arc to break the match (124-91)! 138-110 winners, the Bulls couldn’t have been better prepared for their next trip to Minnesota tomorrow night.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Bulls defense. Because that’s where it all starts, and thanks to their aggressiveness in defense, this team from Chicago was able to take down James Harden’s gang. 11-0 before the break to create the first deficit of the match was the result of this effort. Billy Donovan’s men maintained this requirement defensively until the end, as evidenced by their 11 blocks, as well as 16 turnovers from the Clippers.
A shower of threes… It’s hard to compete when you have showers like that. Everyone took turns in it, from Ayo Dosunmu to Matas Buzzelis to Kevin Huerter and of course Kobe White and Chicago finished a remarkable 25/47 in practice, with a 51% completion rate, which tied the franchise record. In their history, the Bulls have already achieved such a feat twice at the start of last season in Memphis (25/53) and in 2021 against the Pelicans, also with 25/47.
The flights of Matas Buzelis. Whoever rubs against him gets stabbed! His spectacular actions have the merit of waking up the United center, but also his teammates. This is what happened on Dalen Terry’s ball last night, allowing him to break the circle and send the Chicago bullpen into a tailspin. He later succeeded in almost everything and contributed a lot to take his people to the seventh heaven.
Kobe dominates the Kobes. In this duel between the Clippers and the Bulls, between the Californians Kobe Sanders and Kobe Brown and the leader of Chicago Kobe White, Kobe was in spades last night. In the end, it was the latter who did the best tribute to the “Black Mamba” with a game marked by this crazy streak during which he made four 3-pointers in a row and finished with 27 points on 6/10 from distance.
2026-01-21 05:38:00
