Los Angeles Clippers get hot from outside to defeat the Chicago Bulls

The Clippers were firing on all cylinders on Monday night against the Bulls.
Los Angeles Clippers get hot from outside to defeat the Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers get hot from outside to defeat the Chicago Bulls /

The Chicago Bulls left the faucet on early and could not find a way to shut it off, eventually drowning in a sea of three-pointers from the Los Angeles Clippers in a 124-112 loss on Monday night.

Playing in the second game of a back-to-back, Chicago did not have sufficient energy early on, giving up open looks from beyond the arc—mostly to Frenchman Nicolas Batum—that Los Angeles was more than happy to knock down over and over again. The Clippers made 20 three-pointers, more than doubling the Bulls' total of nine. Chicago dropped to 36-39 with just seven games left on their regular season slate.

Late rotations

The Bulls' defense has been their calling card this season, making up for their inconsistent offense. However, the Clippers shredded Chicago's defensive efforts to bits with smart passes and precise shot-making from beyond the arc. Batum, in particular, was red-hot from the outside, draining eight triples for 24 points.

"It was nothing crazy, just really open shots," said Batum.

Overall, the Clippers shot 59% from the field and dished out a whopping 41 assists. Afterward, Bulls coach Billy Donovan shared the Clippers made them pay a steep price for their late rotations.

"We've really been pretty good most of the year on closeouts, and we didn't do a good job on Monday night. Things got opened up. We were late helping, late rotating. I didn't think our communication on our rotations was great," said Donovan.

Clippers got hot early

Donovan added that their scrambling defense gave the Clippers way too many open looks, which eventually bolstered their confidence and rhythm.

"When a team gets into a rhythm, that's what generally happens," Donovan shared. "Tonight, we just didn't do a good enough job all around. I felt we gave up too many uncontested threes, especially early when they started to find their rhythm. And then the ones we did contest, they made because I think we gave them too many open looks early."

Despite the loss, the Bulls are still in a good place, leading the Washington Wizards by three games in the race for the last spot in the NBA Play-in tournament. Chicago's next game will be against the Los Angeles Lakers at the United Center on Wednesday.


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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.