LaVine scores 49, drains game-winning 3 vs. Hornets
Don’t be fooled by the final score.
The Bulls were essentially toast five minutes into Friday night’s game.
The Heat scored the first 15 points on the way to a 116-108 victory in front of 18,953 at the United Center.
“I thought their starting unit came out with a physicality, the force in which they played hurt us early,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said. “Obviously a 34-16 first quarter was a big part of the game.”
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, a Simeon graduate, scored 13 of his 21 points in the opening quarter.
The Bulls made enough of a rally late in the fourth quarter to force the Heat to place Jimmy Butler back into the game. The former Bull made six free throws in the final minute to help the Heat hold on.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
1. Zach LaVine’s early exit didn’t go unnoticed. LaVine led the Bulls with 15 points.
But a substitution early in the game made for the bulk of the postgame discussion.
Boylen subbed Ryan Arcidiacono in for LaVine with 8 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first quarter, when the Bulls already were trailing 13-0.
“I thought he needed a break,” Boylen said. “I thought he needed to come in and think about it.”
Boylen said LaVine made “three egregious defensive mistakes.”
The coach declined to explain what they were.
When asked whether Boylen told him why he was pulled, LaVine said: “I don’t know. I guess I was the blame for it (the team’s slow start). I’ve been pulled early before by him. I guess that’s just his thing to do. I have to take it in stride. I’m not the coach.”
LaVine then asked, “What did he say I got pulled for?”
When told “three egregious defensive mistakes,” LaVine said, “Yeah, OK. I guess Zach LaVine got 13 points scored on him.
“Or was it the starting five? I don’t remember. I thought I was trying to do my job out there. I’ve got to take it with stride. I can’t do anything about that. I’ve just got to control what I can control. I can’t control my minutes.”
Does LaVine feel like he was being singled out in that situation?
“If you’re just going to pull me, yeah,” LaVine said.
“For sure. But it’s not my decision.”
As for “three egregious mistakes,” LaVine recalled one sequence, but then said, “the other two, I don’t know.”
2. Is Jim Boylen contemplating changes to the starting lineup?
The Bulls missed their first eight shots on the way to the 15-0 hole. Lauri Markkanen finally scored the team’s first points with a layup with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
“Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen and our starters have got to play better in order for us to become what we can become,” Boylen said. “That’s how it works.”
Boylen didn’t address whether he’s contemplating making changes to the starting lineup.
“I’ll process it and think about it,” Boylen said. “I don’t think it’s wise to talk about those things after a game like this. It’s a pretty emotional time.”
3. Denzel Valentine made an appearance.
Heading into Friday, Denzel Valentine had not played in four consecutive games because of coach’s decisions. Valentine entered in the fourth quarter Friday and scored nine points on three 3-pointers.
“I thought he came in and competed,” Boylen said. “He got into it defensively, he was communicating. It was great.”