LaVine, Bulls never trail in win over Grizzlies

Send a link to a friend  Share

[December 05, 2019]    Zach LaVine scored 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting, and the Chicago Bulls never trailed during a 106-99 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) dribbles the ball on Memphis Grizzlies guard De'Anthony Melton (0) during the second half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Wendell Carter Jr. scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. Lauri Markkanen finished with 15 points, and Tomas Satoransky added 13 to go along with eight assists.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 32 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Jae Crowder and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 15 points apiece as Memphis lost for the eighth time in its past nine games.

The Bulls won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Memphis opened the fourth quarter on a 23-10 run to cut the deficit to 88-87 with 4:29 remaining. Crowder hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to draw the Grizzlies within a point and prompt a full timeout by the Bulls.

But Chicago responded with eight straight points to push the lead back to 96-87. LaVine hit a 3-pointer and a long jump shot, and Kris Dunn drained a 3-pointer to cap the run.

The Bulls led 78-64 entering the fourth quarter.

The Grizzlies had cut the deficit to six points in the third quarter when Crowder made a 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining. But Chicago regained a comfortable lead by finishing the quarter on a 17-9 run, including a last-second putback layup by Daniel Gafford.

Memphis missed its first 16 3-point attempts before Jackson finally hit one with 7:31 to go in the third quarter.

Chicago led by as many as 22 points in the first half and entered the intermission ahead 50-35.

LaVine provided a punctuation mark during a dominant first half when he caught a lob pass from Satoransky from the top of the key and threw down a dunk about four minutes into the game. Grayson Allen gave chase a step behind LaVine but could not stop the alley-oop play.

The Grizzlies fell behind 27-20 at the end of the first quarter. Bulls guard Ryan Arcidiacono drained a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of the session.

The Bulls scored the first seven points of the game and led 13-2 before Memphis regrouped.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

 

Back to top