What we learned from the Chicago Bulls' 116-102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Bulls had yet another slow start.

© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls’ four-game road trip began on a sour note as they suffered a 116-102 setback at the hands of the surging Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are two things to take away from the Bulls’ 11th loss:

Bulls start slow for the fifth game in a row

The Bulls can’t seem to get out of their way when it comes to the start of games, as they again struggled out of the gate and found themselves down 12 points after one quarter. Chicago missed their first six attempts before Nikola Vucevic put the Bulls on the board with a basket at the 9:51 mark.

The Bulls finished the first quarter shooting 4-of-23 from the field. The team is actually the lowest-scoring first-quarter team in the entire NBA, managing just 24.7 points. Although Coby White heated up from three-point land in the second quarter, that barrage still failed to help the Bulls clear the 40-point mark. Chicago has now scored less than 40 points in the first half in four of the last five matches.

Coby’s SIXTH three of the first half!@NBCSChicago | @CobyWhite pic.twitter.com/2HyBTJ5KYv

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 23, 2023

SGA is for real

If anyone thought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s All-Star campaign last season was a fluke, think again. This season, SGA has taken his game to a whole new level. He’s averaging career-highs in rebounds (6.2), field goal percentage (53.5%), and free-throw accuracy (92.8%), while leading the league in steals. To top it all off, he’s averaging 29.6 points per game.

Against the Bulls, SGA had a heck of a night, putting up 40 points, 12 assists, and even three blocks. He made 11 field goals and missed just one of his 18 attempts from the charity stripe.

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