The Cardiac Bulls show up yet again. In another thrilling last-second-victory over the Utah Jazz, the Chicago Bulls turned down the music — behind yet another game-winning basket from Nikola Vucevic.
The Chicago Bulls defeat the Utah Jazz, 128-126.
“Please Don’t Stop The Music”
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Utah Jazz fans presumably enjoy the fine, elegant tunes of Jazz.
Nikola Vucevic and the Chicago Bulls ended their concert in dramatic fashion.
It wasn’t perfect; it wasn’t pretty, and at times it was downright ugly.
Yet again, though, the Bulls prevailed. En route to a season-high in points (35), the savvy veteran led the Cardiac Bulls to another last-second victory. A game-winning lay-up scratched the vinyl record of the Utah Jazz.
¡Ciao, Nikola!
Story continues below.
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Hitting All The High Notes
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Highs. Career highs … season highs …emotional highs (see picture above).
Wednesday night at the United Center had it all. This game was a rollercoaster of high notes and low notes; composed of 17 lead-changes and the game being tied 26 different times.
The Jazz came out playing heavy metal in the first quarter. Brice Sensabaugh (43 points) came off the bench for Utah and erupted for 21 points in the first quarter, alone. He now holds the record for the most points scored in a single quarter for a player coming off the bench. On top of that, prior to Wednesday night, Sensabaugh’s career high for points was 34. He scored that — and then some; easily.
Luckily for Chicago, Nikola Vucevic showed up to play as well. And he was not in the mood for Jazz.
Facing The Music
While the Jazz were missing a prominent piece (and former Bull) in Lauri Markkanen, the Bulls were injury-ridden as well. Aside from missing Josh Giddey, the Bulls are still without big man Zach Collins. Coby White played as well, but he is still playing tentatively, trying to manage injuries of his own. All of that is to say that the margin of error was extremely slim. Guys would have to step up — and they did.
While Vucevic paced the Bulls in the first quarter, the entire team came alive in the second. Chicago outscored Utah 35-23 in the quarter. Stout defense and aggressive play gave the Bulls mounds of momentum and carried them into halftime with a nine-point lead.
At one point, Coby White even did his best Caleb Williams impression.
The Jazz now found themselves inside a rocking United Center:
“The Swan Song”
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
For the rest of the game, these two teams matched each other’s tunes — bar-for-bar.
Utah came back out in the third quarter and outscored Chicago 32 to 23. Chicago’s shaky defense allowed the Jazz to get a plethora of good looks inside. Buzelis, specifically, struggled on that end. He repeatedly gave up alley-oop dunk attempts (and converts) to the Utah players. The high-flying rookie Ace Bailey punished Buzelis with multiple backside cuts and open looks at the rim. It wasn’t all bad from Matas, though.
Behind efforts from Buzelis, Dalen Terry, and Patrick Williams, the Bulls held their own.
After a back-and-forth quarter, both teams went into the final period tied — 94-94.
“I just told myself don’t smoke it.”
That’s what Nikola Vucevic told Bulls’ Insider, K.C. Johnson, during their postgame interview.
The 14-year veteran didn’t smoke it, but he did smoke the Jazz.
It was another rollercoaster final quarter.
That has been a staple of Chicago sports teams this year (Bear down, Chicago Bears).
(If you haven’t yet, check out Nick DeMao‘s article on them here. It would be a true crime if you didn’t.)
The Jazz came SURGING. Jazz player, Keyonte George (having a stellar season) ignited a 22-12 run for the Jazz in the last five minutes of the game. Inadvertently, he summoned the Cardiac Bulls.
Vučević poured in 16 points in the fourth, going 6-of-8 from the field. His most important field goal came on the game-winning layup. Sealing the deal in dramatic fashion.
The big man might have been the only Bull to score in double-digits for the quarter, but it was the overall scrappy play from the rest of the team that won the Bulls this game.
Isaac Okoro looked like Dennis Rodman for a second.
He practically dove out-of-bounds to grab a loose ball. Nearly falling over, he dished it to Tre Jones at the last second. Tre Jones QUICKLY threw a one-legged, falling-out-of-bounds-dart inside to Vucevic.
Score. Game … blouses.
Music To Our Ears (Game Notes)
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
It was a great showing from Dalen Terry. Having the opportunity now due to injuries, he made the most of his time on the court. He had 11 points and five rebounds. Even though he didn’t log an official assist, he made great passes and displayed his innate playmaking. Terry continues to make his presence felt as a high-energy, defensive spark-plug whenever he gets minutes.
Matas Buzelis only logged 18 minutes in the game. He was given a quick hook early due to his defensive mishaps. While usually I denounce coach Billy Donovan for his mishandling of his young players, especially Buzelis, I liked this decision. Matas has had a string of great games and is a young player that still has much to learn. Donovan has “let him cook”, so to speak, as of late. Pulling him because of his defensive hiccups in this game was intentional. A player like Matas will take note and improve from it.
The BIG MAN. Have yourself a game, Vuc. It wasn’t the season-high in points that I was most impressed with. It’s the way that he scored those points. Nikola dropped in 24 of his 35 points in the paint. That segment of his game is something I have been clamoring for, for years. Leave the perimeter to the guards, big fella. Dominate that paint. You have your way in there most nights. “It’s a simple game”.
Tre Jones and Ayo Dosunmu continue to be such a luxury to have. Dosunmu has always been a stabilizing force. Bulls On Tap writer, Sal Bass wrote an entire article on it. (It’s a great article; give it a read). But with the engine of the team, Josh Giddey, being out — the Chicago native’s contributions hold much more weight. Couple that with Tre Jones, who had himself a career-night the night before, and you truly have an amazing guard room on your hands once this team is fully healthy.
making the band
Dosunmu (15 points, 6 assists) and Jones (7 points, 8 assists) weren’t the only players to step up.
As mentioned earlier, Dalen Terry put in 11 points and five rebounds. Jalen Smith notched a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Guys like Okoro, Kevin Huerter, and Patrick Williams (!!!) showed up as well. It was an encouraging display from Williams. He had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. It’s always good when that version of Williams shows up. The one that bangs in the paint and plays more decisively.
Coby White (surprisingly) only scored six points. It was his all-around game, though, that was a bright-spot in this performance. With the trade deadline coming up — the Bulls’ depth pieces have definitely shown their worth. Whether that means they’ve earned more playing time here, or simply raised their value for monitoring teams around the league — remains to be seen.
What’s On Tap Next?
The Bulls get a break, but not a long one. They travel to New York to face off against the Brooklyn Nets inside the Barclays Center on Friday, January 16. Tip-off will be at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Bulls On Tap’s lead writer, Alejandro Delgado, will fill you all in on how to watch that game. Until then …
See you there … and See Red.
–Gilty