The Chicago Bulls might be addicted to adrenaline.
It’s the only explanation. There was no other reason to pile up a 21-point lead over the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game, only to crumble up that advantage as the Blazers levelled the score with a 28-7 run in less than eight minutes.
And yes, it ended — like always — with a bang.
The Bulls went down four points with 16 seconds remaining. They reaped the rewards of good luck when Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant missed a clutch free throw apiece on two of Portland’s final possessions. And when Coby White plunged toward the rim on the final play before flipping the ball out to Nikola Vučević on the perimeter, the center shot the ball with the calm assurance of a game already fated to be a win.
But on any other night, the Bulls know that all of this might not have been enough.
The Bulls can’t keep this up. They know that. Vučević hit two game-winning 3-pointers (or, arguably, three counting his go-ahead shot against Denver) in the first 14 games of the season. Ten of this team’s games have ended in the clutch. They’ve won six of them.
And while this team is relieved to sit two games above .500 once again, the celebration was tinged with a queasiness that comes from one too many close calls.
“I’m happy (Vučević) made the shot — it was great — but that’s not sustainable basketball,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I’m not taking anything away from Coby or (Vučević’s) play. But in the grand scheme of things, you’re looking at the game totally differently if (Vučević) misses that shot.”
Two or three weeks ago, the Bulls would have celebrated that win with abandon. Back then, they were still undefeated. They hadn’t learned any lessons the hard way. They weren’t yet haunted by memories of Victor Wembanyama rising up to nail two clutch 3-pointers to sneak out of Chicago with a win. Or Donovan Mitchell splitting the defense in half to snatch away a double-digit lead. They thought — maybe, just maybe — they might be invincible.
On Wednesday, the loss came at a price. Don’t get confused — this team was happy. They blasted music and cracked jokes in the cramped visitors’ locker room of the Moda Center, teased Vučević for arguing with a fan during a timeout and nitpicked each other for bad plays down the stretch.
For the Bulls, this game should have served as a crucial step toward forging a winning identity. The ultimate test of a good team is the ability to outperform a beatable opponent. Portland was dramatically vulnerable — undermanned and poorly rested after playing a 9 p.m. tipoff the night before. This was not a game that called for feats of heroism.
Instead, the Bulls left Portland with another sharp reminder of their narrow margin for error.
“We can’t rely on trying to get game-winners every game,” Vučević said. “We have to be better in that situation when we have that lead. The best teams, that’s what they do. They have the lead and they control the game and finish the game off. We have to find a way to do that.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. The Blazers were on the boards.
Portland is known for being prolific as an offensive rebounding team. And despite being one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the NBA, the Bulls couldn’t keep the Blazers off the offensive boards — especially in the fourth quarter.
The Blazers tallied 38 second-chance points off 26 offensive rebounds. Thirteen of those second-chance points were scored in the fourth quarter as the Blazers turned up their pressure and threw bodies at the backboard. In comparison, the Bulls managed only seven offensive boards of their own.
“We’ve got to hold our ground more with the way they were just going through us,” Donovan said.
2. Searching for the long shot.
For the second straight game, the Bulls were willing to live and die at the line. Chicago took only 22 shots in the restricted area and 40 total shots in the paint. Strong shooting in both zones helped to accommodate this low volume of shooting, but the Blazers still won the short game battle, scoring 56 of their 121 points in the restricted area.
Instead, the Bulls pummeled Portland with an onslaught of shots off the perimeter. The Bulls went 21-for-49 from behind the arc. Vučević and White both went 5-for-9 from deep to combine for nearly half of the team’s total 3-point production.
This doesn’t mean the Bulls weren’t driving downhill. They produced the bulk of their 3-point shots by sucking the defense in at the rim, then kicking out for unchallenged shots behind the arc. The Bulls finished with 36 assists on 46 shots, a reflection of the cohesive movement that produced their shooting opportunities.
3. Matas Buzelis fights off foul trouble.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Sidy Cissoko, left, is tripped by Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
The whistle has not been a friend to Matas Buzelis this season.
The second-year forward had already fouled out twice before Wednesday’s game. This pattern is a reflection of his increased minutes as a starter and his attempts to provide a defensive end to a Bulls team that often lacks fortitude when their opponent goes on the attack. But it also means that Buzelis commonly finds himself under a minutes restriction due to an early tally of fouls.
This weakness continued to bother Buzelis in Portland. The forward racked up an early foul that caused coach Billy Donovan to pull him after only two minutes and 15 seconds on the court. He played only five minutes and 22 seconds in the second quarter — and still managed to get two more fouls in that span.
But Buzelis made the necessary adjustments, playing straight-up defense without fouling in the second half to earn a spot in the closing unit. He finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists while logging two blocked shots against his three fouls.