The Chicago Bulls stunned the Denver Nuggets 130-127 at Ball Arena on the end of a tough road back-to-back on Monday night.

Only one day after a double-overtime loss to the Utah Jazz, the Chicago Bulls pulled into Denver for a brutal road matchup on the end of a back-to-back. The Bulls dusted off some seldom used bench pieces and shocked the Denver Nuggets by a score of 130-127.

The Nuggets were not ready for the energy that the Bulls brought in the second quarter. Billy Donovan, recognizing an aging Nikola Vucevic was gassed and wasn’t the answer, turned to the revelation, Jalen Smith, for support. In addition, in wake of Coby White’s absence (injury management), Donovan turned to Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry, and Julian Phillips to inject some energy and urgency into the lineup. 

The bench ended up the deciding factor for this game. Look at the plus-minus on the box score:

Ayo Dosunmu +21

Jalen Smith +16

Jevon Carter +15

Story continues below.

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Now for the Nuggets:

Tim Hardaway, Jr. -21

Jonas Valenciunas -15 (in only four minutes)

Bruce Brown -17

The Bulls’ bench outscored their Nuggets counterparts by almost 50 and only scored two points less than the Nuggets’ starters!

Fueling the Charge

As you can see, the Bulls’ bench provided results and energy everytime they were called upon. Jevon Carter (five threes, 15 points) and Smith (16 points, eight rebounds) made their case for continued minutes even when the team is fully healthy. Terry and Phillips, playing together for the first time, spearheaded the defensive effort in the second quarter, building up a 23-point lead. 

Soon after, the starters returned and promptly coughed up the lead. The Bulls were trailing at the half after a wild roller coaster of NBA swings. The second half was much closer throughout.

Chicago was clearly fatigued in the fourth quarter. Three-point shooting suffered; the Bulls built a house with their bricks to the tune of 1-13 shooting in the fourth at one point. The Nuggets played their signature brand of Nikola Jokic (36-18-13) and Aaron Gordon (24 points, 10 rebounds) led basketball to take the lead, seemingly for good, with slightly more than two minutes remaining.

After a Jokic trey pushed the lead to two, the Bulls found their signature clutch magic. Kevin Huerter drained a jumper on a post kick out by Vucevic, giving Chicago the lead back. The defense then clamped down, doubling Jokic on the perimeter and leading to an Ayo Dosunmu fast-break layup. After the unstoppable Nuggets center cut the lead back to one on a beautiful post move, Denver then overcommitted to Huerter to stop another three. Vucevic was left wide open at the top of the key and iced the game with a three point swish for his only made basket in the fourth quarter (3-13 overall).

After a series of free throws (two each by Dosunmu and Huerter), the Nuggets failed to generate a clean look to tie the game. Jokic attempted one from the logo and did not draw rim. The Bulls did a great job defensively on the last play, and came away with a well-deserved win.

If you want to see for yourself, the Bulls posted the final two minutes on their YouTube page.

What It Means

The Bulls don’t play in trap games. They are a trap game. Denver clearly saw that Coby White and Tre Jones were sitting and the Bulls were likely to be tired after a double-overtime loss. There was one clip on the broadcast of a clearly befuddled and bemused Gordon and Jokic duo on the bench as the likes of Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips sprinted to a large lead. The Nuggets were slow to adjust and the Bulls played incredibly intense basketball.

This is not to insult the Bulls; it’s a bit of a compliment. If a team is not ready to play with pace and intensity, even the top of the league can lose to Chicago. The Nuggets, quite honestly, are a better team than the Bulls. It’s not particularly close. But when the Bulls execute at their highest level and the Nuggets play more casual ball, the Bulls can win. 

The Bulls care. A lot. They will play hard even if they are playing an all-time great like Nikola Jokic. It’s a testament to their team culture they have built. They continue to play hard and they’re a refreshing outlier to the rest of the league. They just aren’t talented enough to win games when they don’t execute with force and energy.

We can still see in the past few games (Jokic, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell) the value of an elite closer. Effort can only get you so far in this league. The Bulls do not have a guy at said level; that’s why they seem to collapse in the fourth of late. Chicago has an offense that is capable of putting up enough juice to win despite a 17th-rated defense according to NBA.com. The finishing touch, and the hardest to fulfill, is that great player.

Notes:

Vucevic, while struggling with his shot, did have four screen assists and was active in ball movement.

The Bulls as a team recovered five loose balls. The Nuggets had none, reflecting their lack of hustle and preparation for this game.

The Bulls closed with Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Vucevic, Huerter, and Dosunmu.