PORTLAND, Oregon News Agency — After a two-game losing streak, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trail Blazer by a score of 104-96 on Sunday night. DeMar DeRozan finished with 20 points, and the Bulls were able to break the losing streak.
In the final game of a three-game road trip, the Bulls were led by Coby White, who finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Andre Drummond, who came off the bench, also finished with 15 points. The victory was virtually assured when Ayo Dosunmu made a three-point shot with twenty-one seconds remaining.
The victory was achieved by the Bulls through their defense, despite the fact that they were never able to expand their lead by more than 11 points and made only eight of their thirty-two attempts at three-point shots.
Billy Donovan, the coach of the Bulls, recently stated, “I really thought we tried to share the ball.” “I believe that we just didn’t shoot the ball very well, as evidenced by the fact that we created 27 assists on the number of threes that we made. But I have to give credit to the players because we managed to hold on defensively.
Portland was led by Jerami Grant, who scored 24 points, and Deandre Ayton, who scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Four of the last five games that the Blazers have played have been losses.
The Bulls were leading by a razor-thin margin of 76-75 heading into the final quarter. Julian Phillips, a rookie from Chicago, made a three-point shot that extended the lead to 88-80.
With 4 minutes and 34 seconds remaining, Anfernee Simons made a three-point shot, bringing Portland to within 92-89. However, DeRozan’s three-point shot on the opposite end of the court stopped the threat.
In the final minutes of the game, Simons brought the Blazers to within 99-96, but Dosunmu’s three-pointer put an end to any possibilities of a final revival.
Dosunmu’s three-pointer was a result of Nikola Vucevic’s assist to him.
When asked about the feeling of winning, Dosunmu stated, “It’s always a good feeling.” He could have easily simply shot it because he is a veteran and an All-Sar, but he believed in me to make the correct play. “It just feels good because of the work I put into it,” said the player. “Vucevic trusted me to make the right play.”
Patrick Williams, who has a sore left foot and is set to undergo more imaging in Chicago before there is a date for his return, was not available for the Bulls to play with.
The Bulls were defeated by the Lakers by a score of 141-132 on Thursday in Los Angeles. Williams, who averages 10 points per game, was a member of the Bulls team. His absence has an effect on Chicago, which is already suffering from the absence of Torrey Craig and Zach LaVine.
The Blazers made a decision at game time whether or not to play Grant (back soreness) and rookie Scoot Henderson (quad contusion), but both players participated in the contest. Throughout the month of January, Portland has struggled with injuries and illness, which has caused them to be in second-to-last place in the Western Conference.
The Blazers were coming off of a road trip that finished with a loss to the Spurs by a score of 116-100 on Friday. The trip had a record of 1-3.
Portland was behind for the majority of the first quarter, but they were able to close the distance by the middle of the second quarter and level the game at 30 points thanks to a three-pointer made by Duop Reath. White provided the Bulls with an answer by scoring three of his own.
During the halftime break, the Bulls had extended their lead to 53-42. Among all players, White had the most points with 11.
Ayton’s second consecutive dunk brought Portland to within 59-55, but the Blazers were unable to go any closer until Ayton scored a pair of free throws that tied the game at 67. After Grant made a free throw, Portland took the lead, and the rest of the third quarter was spent with both teams vying for ownership of the competition.
The Blazers also had trouble from the outside, as they only made six of their thirty-three attempts at three-point shots.
There is no doubt in our minds that we possess guys who are capable of putting up statistics, scoring from the outside as well as from the court. Now all that remains is for us to figure it out,” Grant added. I’m afraid I don’t have any answers to that question, but I can assure you that we are quite capable.
On Tuesday, the Bulls will play host to the Toronto Raptors, and then the following night, they will travel to watch the Hornets.
This coming Monday night, the Trail Blazers will play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Milwaukee Bucks will bring Damian Lillard, a former top player for the Portland Trail Blazers, back to the city on Wednesday.
