© Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Coach Billy Donovan praises the Bulls' toughness and defense in a comeback win against the Kings
The Chicago Bulls started their four-game West Coast trip on a winning note with a comeback 113-109 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Despite being down by as much as 22 points during the third frame, the Bulls roared back and closed the endgame with a 9-1 run to secure the marvelous comeback.
Another comeback for the Bulls
Their victory versus the Kings was the third time the Bulls had come back from being down by 20 points or more to win. They earlier defeated the Miami Heat by 21 points in the first period in November, 102-97, and were able to complete a 23-point rally to stun the Minnesota Timberwolves in an overtime thriller last month, 129-123.
Chicago head coach Billy Donovan said this demonstrates the competitive fire and collective push of his team. DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu took turns during the final quarter to carry the Bulls in the crunch time.
“We moved the ball real well and generated a good shot. When we miss, we have to fight to get over that. I'm not sitting here and say that our guys can't score, it's just that there's times we go through periods. … We do have some droughts that it's hard for us to score. It's like not hard for us to generate shots but we go through periods where we just don't score quite enough to keep the pace.
“I give our guys credit. That happens sometimes, like we talk to these guys all the time about living with the result. You move the ball, pass the ball. … We got to be able to respond, we got to put that behind us.”
Defensive intensity on display
While they got tested during the entire matchup the Bulls were able to claw their way back by playing a sheer defensive pressure. While they played controlled basketball with only 10 minimal turnovers, Chicago forced Sacramento to commit 18 errors which they handily converted to 24 points.
“I thought we were really active with our hands," Donovan added. “Us being able to force turnovers certainly helps us get out in transition and it helps you generate some easy baskets.”
