Chicago Bulls start road trip with a 116-102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Bulls couldn’t stop the OKC Thunder on Wednesday night.

© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls got their road trip off to a bad start as they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-102. The loss was the Bulls’ second to this rising Thunder squad this season. Additionally, the setback was Chicago’s second in a row, dropping them to 5-11 this season.

No Zach LaVine

The Bulls played without their leading scorer Zach LaVine. Bulls coach Billy Donovan initially reported that the high-flying guard was “good to go.” However, as LaVine went through his warm-up routine, he felt some soreness in his foot and the medical staff eventually relayed to Donovan that the All-Star guard wouldn’t be able to play on Wednesday night.

Billy Donovan explains why Zach LaVine was a late scratch from Wednesday's game pic.twitter.com/5lM2QgEG5R

— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) November 23, 2023

LaVine’s absence notwithstanding, the Bulls endured another rough start and already faced a double-digit deficit at the end of the first, 26-14.

Tried to fight back

The Bulls tried to rally in the second behind the hot shooting of guard Coby White, who made five of his seven triples in the second quarter. However, the Bulls still trailed by 11, 50-39, at halftime. They eventually tied the game in the third and were within three, 95-92, in the fourth when Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over late in the game, scoring eight straight points.

SGA finished with 40 points, 12 assists, and three blocks. DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 25 points, while White finished with 23. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

After the game, Donovan commended his team for trying to fight through this rough stretch.

“It’s a struggle when you lose, but I see them fighting and trying,” Donovan said.

“We just haven’t been consistent enough, and we haven’t been consistent in shooting the basketball. I felt our guys were really trying. We just have these stretches where we dig ourselves somewhat of a hole. We just have to keep fighting through and being more consistent.”

Not enough in OKC. Toronto on Friday. pic.twitter.com/4ee173bMyA

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 23, 2023

Andre Drummond is content with his off-the-bench role with the Bulls