Bulls Survive One-Win Wizards, Noa Essengue Debuts
- Drew Stevens (@Drew_H_Stevens)
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
CHICAGO - If this season has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t put anything past the Chicago Bulls.
After all, this is the same team that lost to the undermanned Detroit Pistons only to became the first team to beat the Nuggets in Denver five nights later, on the second night of a back-to-back no less.
So while they welcomed the Washington Wizards, the worst team in the league, to town on Saturday, them bouncing back from a 36-point drubbing at the hands of the Miami Heat was far from guaranteed. Particularly with three rotation players — Isaac Okoro, Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry — in street clothes.
Nevertheless, after surrendering 70 first-half points for the third time this season, the Bulls left the United Center with a 121-120 come-from-behind victory.
The Bulls moved to 9-7 on the season and 7-4 in clutch games — defined as a contest in which the score differential is five points or less in the last five minutes.
That the Bulls allowed themselves to be pushed to the brink by the one-win Wizards, however, did not sit well with the elder statesman of the team.
“You give up 70 in a half, it’s just not good enough,” said Nikola Vučević, who scored a game-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds and warned his teammates of the danger of continuing to play from behind after the game. “Things needed to be addressed. We talked about it, but I don’t think we really understand that it’s just not sustainable to play this way. It’s good that we got the win, but we have to understand that it’s not just going to keep happening for us this way where we find ways at the end.”
The Wizards made 52.2% of their shots and all 13 of their free throws in the first quarter en route to their highest-scoring period of the season. They cooled to 12-of-24 shooting in the second quarter, but still led by six points at the half.
The Bulls played them to a draw in the third quarter and took their first lead of the second half, 112-110, on a Matas Buzelis triple nearly eight minutes into the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands three times from there with Tre Jones sinking a pair of free throws and breaking up a Kyshawn George pass with 1.3 seconds to seal the deal.
“He’s a winner,” Donovan said. “He makes plays. He’s really, really smart, got a high IQ. I thought he was really good coming down the stretch.”
With 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, Josh Giddey notched his fourth triple double of the season. Coby White scored 20 points on 16 shots, but the Bulls outscored the Wizards by a team-high eight points in his 31 minutes of action.
Matias Buzelis finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks, marking the sixth-straight game he’s tallied at least two blocks. Tyson Chandler is the only player in franchise history to enjoy such a streak at age 21 or younger.
The Bulls, who finished their five-games-in-seven-nights stretch 3-2, play in New Orleans on Monday and will have three days off before a back-to-back set in Charlotte and Indiana.
The Rookie Lives, Barely
With Isaac Okoro, Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry unavailable and both Coby White and Tre Jones on minutes restrictions, the curtain finally opened on Noa Essengue’s debut.
The 18-year-old, 12th-overall pick checked in 20 seconds into the second quarter with the Bulls trailing 41-40. He tallied a hockey assist on a Jevon Carter three and missed a corner three before he was pulled three minutes and 53 seconds later.
He never returned.
“He got caught on a back screen one time,” Donovan said. “They needed to switch. He didn’t. I’d like to see him get his motor going a little bit more, personally, but I think when he was out there he was fine.”