Just as the Chicago Bulls got Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams back from injury to aid the frontcourt and contribute to their third straight win, they lost Josh Giddey to an ankle injury.
The Bulls’ bid for their first four-game winning streak in more than 15 months will have to happen without Giddey, who will sit out Thursday night when Chicago hosts the Brooklyn Nets.
The Bulls seek their first four-game winning streak since Nov. 30-Dec. 8, 2023. They are on their fifth three-game winning streak this season following a 121-103 home win over the Indiana Pacers Monday night when Vucevic and Williams were on minutes restrictions as they returned from a calf and knee injury, respectively.
The Bulls are 5-3 in their past eight since dropping six straight Feb. 5-22. Vucevic was out since Feb. 22 and posted a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in 24 minutes while Williams was limited to 13 minutes in his first action since Feb. 12. With their frontcourt replenished, the Bulls shot 50 percent for the third time in five games and scored 68 points in the paint.
“I really like the way we played, physically on both ends of the floor,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “They’re a team willing to run up and down the floor with us. They did not get off shooting it, we scored in the paint and we were able to get downhill and attack the basket.”
Giddey totaled 29 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against Indiana Monday before spraining his right ankle in the fourth quarter. Over his last nine games, Giddey has averaged 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists on 52.2 percent shooting from the field. Though Giddey was not in a walking boot Wednesday — he left the arena Monday wearing one — Donovan said he will be out for a few weeks.
Without Giddey, the Bulls are hoping to see Coby White continue to produce. White scored 29 Monday and has averaged 28.2 points over his past six games, including a 44-point showing in last Thursday’s 44-point win at Orlando.
The Nets are 1-8 over their past nine games and four of those losses came after holding a double-digit lead. Brooklyn blew an 18-point lead Feb. 25 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a 22-point lead against the Golden State Warriors a week ago and a 17-point working margin Saturday in Charlotte.
The latest occurred Tuesday when the Nets held an 18-point lead before taking a 109-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers for their fifth straight road defeat. Brooklyn held its 18-point lead with 9:23 left in the third quarter and wound up getting outscored 56-33 the rest of the way.
The Nets gave up a game-ending 23-8 run and were held to 18 points in the fourth quarter, which blunted any momentum gained from Monday’s 111-108 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cam Thomas scored 27 points in his fifth game back from a second hamstring injury, but was 2-for-8 in the fourth quarter when the Nets were outscored 31-18 and sent Cleveland to the foul line 11 times.
“I think their physicality just went up in the second half,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Defensively, we had 21 fouls for their 25 free throws, and they fouled us 10 times for our 14.”
D’Angelo Russell was held out against Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back to manage a recent ankle injury but is expected to play Thursday.
–Field Level Media
