© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls falls flat as Dallas Mavericks pick up a 35-point victory
The Chicago Bulls sleepwalked through the first quarter and paid dearly for it, getting spanked by the Dallas Mavericks, 127-92, on Monday at the United Center. Chicago got outscored, 44-16, in the first and never recovered, dropping their record this season to 31-34.
Due to the lopsided nature of the contest, the starters got some early rest. Rookie Onuralp Bitim took advantage and led the Bulls with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic scored 13 points each, while Coby White registered 12. Another rookie, Julian Phillips, impressed with 11 points, three boards, and two steals.
First quarter struggles
Although Dallas got a fantastic start, Chicago was within 11, 25-14, with 4:20 to go in the first. However, the Mavericks took over, uncorking a massive 19-2 run in the final minutes of the opening canto to build a huge 44-16 lead. Mavs superstar Luka Doncic starred in that pivotal stretch, scoring eight points, including two triples.
Josh Green punctuated the Mavs’ searing first-quarter run with a corner triple right before the buzzer sounded.
Bulls had no answer
With the Mavs’ outside shooting clicking, the Bulls began to stretch their defense out, resulting in the shaded lane opening up for easy baskets. Dallas outscored Chicago in the paint, 60-50, with Dereck Lively II scoring 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting.
Daniel Gafford had 20, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He extended his run of consecutive made baskets to 28, just seven off the record of the great Wilt Chamberlain.
Luka Doncic had another triple-double of 27 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds.
“We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
“We've got to be more pulled in than we were. ... We kind of were too worried with getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, hey, we're gonna take away the roll.”
