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3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' 124-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans

The Bulls have now lost three games in a row

Stephen Beslic

© Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Bulls waltzed into the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, looking for some daylight in an increasingly-dreary season. They walked out licking even more wounds as they suffered a 124-110 loss to drop to 6-9 for the season. The loss was Chicago's third straight, and three things stood out in their performance.

Pels' three-point blitz

The Pelicans struggled to connect from beyond the arc in their first matchup against the Bulls last week. They made 3 of 19 in a 115-111 victory. On Wednesday, New Orleans' sharpshooters made their mark as early as the first quarter, making 6 of 11, to take a 32-28 lead.

The third quarter, though, was where the Pelicans' long range shooting did a lot of damage as Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy canned a triple each to turn a five-point halftime lead into a sizable 14-point bulge. They pushed their lead to 95-78 heading to the fourth, and the rout was on.

Bench power

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan continues to find success with his second unit. With the Pelicans asserting themselves early and leading 26-20, Donovan turned to a five composed of Zach LaVine, Goran Dragic, Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, and Andre Drummond late in the first. 

The tide quickly turned as the Bulls' frenetic defense and quick ball movement helped push them in front, 37-32. This included a mean baseline slam from Caruso.

Caruso comes alive

Caruso has been having an awful season on offense so far, as he is averaging just 4.4 points on 32% shooting.

On Wednesday, he showed signs of life as he tallied 13 points while shooting 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from rainbow country. Although Caruso is more known for his work on defense and playmaking, his scoring outburst was a much-needed development as the Bulls try to find some consistency on offense.

The Bulls will look to return to winning ways on Friday when they host the Orlando Magic.

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Stephen Beslic
STEPHEN BESLIC

Stephen Beslic is a writer on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Stephen played basketball from the age of 10 and graduated from Faculty of Economic and Business in Zagreb, Croatia, majoring in Marketing.

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