© Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls dumps the Memphis Grizzlies to inch closer to .500 mark
The Chicago Bulls pounded the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-96, on Saturday night to move to 21-23. The victory was the team’s second in a row as they again traverse the season without All-Star Zach LaVine, who will be missing a few weeks because of a sprained right ankle.
Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench and led the team in scoring with 20 points, DeMar DeRozan added 18 markers, while Coby White put up 17 points for a Bulls team that had seven players score in double-figures.
Great response
The Bulls entered the third quarter on top by 10, 50-40, but the resilient Grizzlies fought back and took a 55-53 lead. However, Chicago did not blink and answered with a 17-0 blitz to reclaim the advantage and hold on to it until the final buzzer for their sixth win in eight games.
Patrick Williams, back in the starting lineup to replace LaVine, had 15 points and said the team just has to deal with the hand they have been dealt.
“You just find a way,” Williams said.
“The end goal is to win the game (no matter) who's playing, who's not playing. That's your job as a team, that's your job as a player is to win games. We're all trying to find a way to do that. Would love to have him here. Can't wait ‘til he gets back. But we’ve got to hold down the fort.”
Stayed with it
The Bulls didn’t shoot it well in the first half but refused to let their sour shooting impact their overall play. Bulls coach Billy Donovan praised his team for keeping at it until the shots began trickling into the basket.
“I know we didn't shoot it particularly well to start the game, but I thought we were really generating a lot of good looks. They missed a lot of 3s as well, so there wasn't much separation there in that first quarter. But I liked the fact that we kept staying with it and were really unselfish and guys moved the ball, shared it. Everybody kind of got involved in one way or another,” Donovan shared.
