Match: Golden State in two stages

Even in the absence of Nikola Vucevic, the focus of the Bulls being made in the league’s health protocol (for players who have contracted or had contact with Covid-19), the label had something to tempt amongst the top team at the start of this game. Season, Golden State Warriors, and one of the leaders of the East, Chicago. But the suspense only lasted a little over a quarter when, led by Zach Lavigne, DeMar DeRozan and Ayo Dosunmo (10, 6 and 6 points respectively in the first period), the Bulls captured an advantage of 29-23 (12).

After allowing the gap to balloon by another two points (31-23, 13), the Warriors moved in on Stephen Curry’s heels, taking the lead in the 17th minute (35-34, after a interception and Gary Payton II dunk) to not give up control again.

Arriving by a six-point margin at the break (51-45), Golden State eliminated the match from the appeal with an irresistible third quarter: 35-17 as Curry once again led the jig (see below). In contrast, Zach LaVine did not resist the pressure put in place by the California defense and lost five balls in particular in this third period alone (7 in total), demonstrating the current limits of the Bulls without their proud pivot.

The last period in particular allowed Billy Donovan and Steve Kerr, the coaches, to rotate the workforce and give long minutes of play to several players from the bench, without changing anything at the end of the game (119-93). “It’s a good test for us, we got hit and we’ll see how we react”, said DeRozan as the Bulls embark on a long road trip in the Western Conference.

As for the Warriors, having been defeated only once in twelve matches, they have emerged a little at the top of the league (all the other teams have at least three losses).

Fact: Stephen Curry beats Ray Allen

Under the eyes of Bob McKillop, his collegiate coach in Davidson (North Carolina), Stephen Curry has performed extremely well and set a new record for the three-point baskets scored in the NBA (regular season and playoff games). . Against Chicago, Cary offended Ray Allen (3358 career-winning baskets) when he scored his third basket behind the arc in the 15th minute.

For good measure, the two-time MVP finished the game with nine three-pointers and a total of forty points (plus five assists and four rebounds). This is the 36th time in his career that Curry has made at least nine award-winning baskets. No other player has accomplished this feat more than nine times (Damien Lillard and James Harden).