Chicago Bulls Coach's Statement on Emotional Moment vs Warriors

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan explained his emotional fourth quarter moment

Jan 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan calls for a timeout during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Going into the Thursday night, it felt like the Chicago Bulls had a chance to upset the Golden State Warriors and go on a two-game winning streak. Especially, after riding the confidence of beating the LA Clippers on Monday night.

While it looked like the Bulls had a fighting chance to start the game, they ended up getting destroyed in the second half and were losing by as many as 31 points. Despite the game being a blowout, Donovan called an emotional timeout to scold his young players on the court. After the game, he explained his reason for the late timeout.

Billy Donovan said he called late timeout, where he was animated with the young players, because he didn’t like the way that unit was playing. Said Bulls lost their identity in second half. https://t.co/iQgopXOqNj
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 24, 2025

“Yeah, because I didn't think we were playing the right way," Donovan said. "You know we ended up coming down on a couple possessions and just didn’t play the right way, and I just told those guys we need to play, I don’t care what the score is, we need to play the right way. And I know we missed some shots but we bypassed some threes again, we can’t do that. We have to take threes."

The Chicago Bulls were outscored 68-42 in the second half against the Golden State Warriors. In the first half, they actuall led 64-63. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Donovan was upset.

"We just didn’t come out in that third quarter with the same commitment to the identity that we played with in the first.”

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