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Chicago Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen has taken his game to another level and his teammates, including Zach LaVine and Coby White, are taking notice of his resurgence. The Finnish national spearheaded the Bulls' attack as they snagged a narrow win against the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Bulls guard Coby White shared that Markkanen has been more aggressive with the ball and has been doing a lot of things for the Bulls offense.
“His aggression,” White said to NBC Sports. “He’s not just picking and popping. He’s putting the ball on the floor, getting to the basket, getting to the free-throw line, getting ‘and-ones,’ creating for others, getting downhill.”
Zach LaVine then lauded his teammate's increased confidence, who is raring to prove that he is one of the best young big men in the league.
“With Lauri it's all about confidence,” LaVine said. “We all understand his situation. He's going out there proving what he's worth. And we like that chip on his shoulder.”
“I've been with him through the ups and downs, and we all have ups and downs. But we're here supporting him and how aggressively he took the challenge. We need that from him.”
After losing their last three games, the Bulls were eager to get a win on their home floor on Monday night. However, the Knicks didn't go down without a fight and attempted to make life harder for their opponents as well.
It was a tight encounter between the two teams from start to finish but head coach Billy Donovan and his men proved to be steadier in crunch time. With a 26-point output in the final frame, the Bulls eventually emerged victorious on a 110-102 win over the Knicks.
Lauri Markkanen headlined his team with 30 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc along with five rebounds. Zach LaVine scored 17 of his 21 total points in the second half while Coby White came out with an all-around performance of 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
The contributions from the Bulls players were enough to fend off their opponents' attack led by Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, and Alec Burks. Chicago now improved to an 8-11 record for the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Lauri Markkanen will hope to lead the way once again when his Bulls squad tussle against the Knicks on Feb. 3. in the second game of a back-to-back set between the two teams.
