Chicago Bulls' power forward Patrick Williams was benched in the fourth quarter by coach Billy Donovan in the team's 116-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Donovan explained his decision to sit Williams down after the contest, telling reporters that it “wasn't anything Williams did wrong to not play the last 20 minutes of the contest,” according to Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson.
Instead, Billy Donovan didn't like the way the starting five started the second half, and he wanted to get Alex Caruso and Coby White into the game quickly. He was happy with how that group closed the third quarter and chose to keep them together for the culmination of the game, per Johnson.
Zach LaVine scored 38 points for the Bulls, while DeMar DeRozan had 14 for Chicago, which lost its second straight to fall to 10-18 on the road.
“It's us vs. everybody,” LaVine said after the game. The Chicago Bulls were one of just two teams that did not make a trade before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, confirming rumors that they would “stand pat” and neither be buyers or sellers at the deadline.
Patrick Williams finished with just two points and two rebounds over 14 minutes for the Bulls in the loss, adding one steal and one block.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points in his first game since returning to Brooklyn, just hours after the team traded superstar Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.
The 26-29 Bulls are back in action on Saturday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Ohio, before returning home to play the Orlando Magic on Monday.
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