Coming off an impressive 116-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Clippers were unable to keep momentum rolling on a second night of a back-to-back.
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored 11 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter while earning a 112-99 win over the Clippers on Monday night at the Intuit Dome.
The Bulls improved to 19-25 on the season with the win while the Clippers fell to 24-18, ending a four-game winning streak. The Bulls snapped a five-game losing streak in the effort.
“I knew coming into the game that they were going to play hard,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “They were thirsty for a win. So, they came in, they attacked us. I thought defensively they did a good job by mixing the zone and man up to keep us off-balanced. Offensively, we just played way too slow.”
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LaVine recorded his 109th 30-point game in a Bulls uniform, tying Bob Love for second-most 30-point games in franchise history.
“I know I’ve been here seven, eight years,” said LaVine, who made five threes on the night. “To continue climb up the ladder…Bob Love is great, has a jersey retired. It’s always good to be second to you know who [Michael Jordan].”
Los Angeles was shorthanded with Ivica Zubac missing his first game of the season after being poked in the eye against the Lakers on Sunday. Kawhi Leonard sat out the second half of the back-to-back due to injury management of his right knee.
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 27 points and James Harden added a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.
The Bulls made 15 three-pointers and outrebounded Los Angeles 54-40 while the Clippers shot 9-of-42 from three-point distance.
“They beat us in every facet of the game,” said Lue.
Josh Giddey had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists while Talen Horton-Tucker added 18 points off the bench for the Bulls.
Chicago led 25-18 in the first quarter. Powell gave Los Angeles a 37-30 lead after making a three-pointer with 6:31 left in the second period. The Clippers led 50-48 at halftime.
The Bulls made four threes in the third period, outscoring the Clippers 36-16. This allowed the Bulls to take a commanding 84-66 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“It’s a bad game for us,” said Harden.
The Clippers got within nine with 3:24 left in the fourth after Derrick Jones Jr. made a free throw and lay-up to complete a three-point play.
The Bulls would quickly respond. Giddey made a jumper and LaVine hit his fifth three of the game to give Chicago a 15-point lead, 110-95 with 1:24 left, putting the game out of reach for Los Angeles.
“I think they came out with a lot of energy. They were flying around and we came out flat,” said Powell. “We had our moments where we made our run in the second quarter. We tried to make a run to start the fourth, but Zach made some tough shots.”
