It was an all too familiar scenario on Monday, as the Chicago Bulls once again blew a huge lead resulting in another disappointing loss. The Oklahoma City Thunder rallied all the way from 26 points down and escaped with a 109-106 victory after outscoring the Bulls 60-38 in the second half.
For his part, Bulls head coach Jim Boylen understands what needs to be done. The 54-year-old remains somewhat optimistic, emphasizing the need to make big plays when it matters most:
“That’s where we have to grow. We have to get those big, timely rebounds to close out games,” Boylen said, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports. “We talk about it. We work on it. We do the drill work on it and we’re hoping it can carry over as we go here.”
Boylen insists the Bulls will learn from these failures and grow as a team.
Meanwhile, Bulls guard Zach LaVine could not hide his disappointment following yet another humiliating defeat. The 24-year-old was on fire, torching the Thunder with a game-high 39 points (on 15-of-25 shooting), three 3-pointers, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 34 minutes of play. Nevertheless, his heroics were not enough, and for the 6-foot-6 combo guard, the problem is simple:
“We know what our problem is. It’s black and white,” he said. “Stop giving up fourth-quarter leads. Play better defense and execute our offense better in the fourth. We need to hold onto leads and sustain them. We’re giving up the game in the fourth.”
The Bulls were coming off a nice victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, and this would have been a potentially momentum-swinging win had they secured the blowout victory against the Thunder. It wasn't the case, though, as Chicago quickly reverted to its losing ways.
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