Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen devised a gameplan against the Denver Nuggets. But as the game progressed, his strategy not only failed, but it backfired on him and his team.
Per Cody Westerlund of The 670 Score, Boylen shared their strategy after the game. Since the Nuggets shoot at a below-average clip from downtown, Boylen instructed his players to go under the screens. But in the game itself, the Nuggets shot at a 50 percent clip from downtown.
Jim Boylen just said in postgame on @NBCSChicago that #Bulls' game plan was to go under screens often and force Nuggets to hit from the outside.
Nuggets entered 15th in NBA in 3-point percentage at 35.3%. They shot 20-of-40 on 3s tonight.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) January 18, 2019
It was a blowout, 105-135. Jamay Murray led the Nuggets with 25 points and converted on 7-of-11 from downtown. Nikola Jokic chipped in a double-double with 18 points and 11 assists, along with eight rebounds. Torrey Craig had 13 points including 4-of-6 from downtown, Paul Millsap had 14 and was 2-of-2 from distance, and Malik Beasley had 13 and 2-of-3 from 3-point country.
The Bulls, meanwhile, got contributions from Lauri Markkanen who had 27 points, Robin Lopez with 17 points, and Jabari Parker with 15 points. Zach LaVine struggled all night and finished with a measly eight points of 4-of-15 shooting from the field.
The Nuggets have improved to 30-14 for second place in the Western Conference. They will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The Bulls, meanwhile, have dropped nine straight games and have a 10-35 record. They will host the Miami Heat on Saturday.
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