1st win of season a balanced effort
LaVine scores 23 to lead seven in double figures; Markkanen aggravates calf injury
The Chicago Bulls’ first road trip should serve as another litmus test. The start to the 2020-21 season has been a disaster — turnover-prone, unorganized on offense and uninterested on defense — but at least the Washington Wizards, another winless team, offered some company.
Two consecutive games in Washington, a schedule quirk intended to limit travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, should give the Bulls a measuring stick in the Eastern Conference against a team likely to end up in their tier. And although the basketball was not always aesthetically pleasing, the Bulls controlled Tuesday’s game from start to finish, coasting to a 115-107 victory for their first win of the season.
The quality of opponent has dipped considerably since the first two games, but the Bulls can draw encouragement from how they have improved with each game, and for most of Tuesday night, they started to show signs of competence.
“It’s obviously very important to get the first win; it kind of takes the pressure off your shoulders,” guard Tomáš Satoranský said. “It tells us what I already know, that this group is trying to get better every day and trying to play better.
“But we have to keep going, we have to keep improving. There’s a lot of room to improve, but I really like the mentality of everyone in this group just doing everything it takes to win.”
The Bulls got solid contributions up and down the lineup, from the backcourt of Zach LaVine (23 points, five rebounds, six assists) and Coby White (18, five and six) and off the bench from former Wizards Otto Porter Jr. (14 points in the first half ), Garrett Temple (12 points) and Satoranský (10 points and six assists).
Wendell Carter Jr. recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Seven players reached double figures as the Bulls moved the ball around much more efficiently than in their first three games.
They collected 26 assists with only 14 turnovers, an improvement from their 20-turnover average in the first three games, which ranked second-worst in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook (21 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists) collected his third triple-double in three games with his new team and Bradley Beal scored 29 points, but the Wizards fell to 0-4 with their new backcourt tandem.
“We made them work for their points,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who was presented the game ball from his players but passed it along to executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas.
The Bulls could have had another player in double figures, but forward Lauri Markkanen was limited to nine points in 19 minutes after he aggravated a calf bruise in the second quarter.
Markkanen, who had been a game-time decision, tried to play through the injury and returned for the second half, but after a few minutes he told Donovan he could not continue. He left with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter, and his status for Thursday’s game is uncertain.
“That’s the main thing. It doesn’t matter how you play if you’re on the bench,” Markkanen said. “You’ve got to be available to play. I wanted to be there for my teammates. But you can’t control freak accidents like that.”