NBA: Bulls reverse fortunes in second half, topple Grizzlies
FILE – Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls talks to Zach LaVine #8 against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at United Center on March 29, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP
Zach LaVine scored a game-high 36 points and had nine assists, DeMar DeRozan added 31 points and seven assists and the Chicago Bulls engineered a big second-half comeback to knock off the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 128-107 on Sunday.
Chicago (38-40) rallied from down 23 points in the first half with a dominant third quarter on both ends of the court. The Bulls held the Grizzlies to just 16 points in the period on 5-of-18 shooting, while knocking down 17 of 27 for 40 points on the other end.
Runs of 19-6 and 19-2 flipped a 17-point Memphis advantage in the opening minute of the third to a nine-point Chicago lead by the end of the period.
The largest comeback of the season 💪@Plus500 | #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/nnEaN4MlK2
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 3, 2023
Memphis (49-29) cut the deficit to three midway through the final period on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 3-pointer, part of his team-high 31 points, but Chicago responded with an immediate 11 unanswered points. LaVine was responsible for seven in a row during the surge.
The Bulls’ 11-0 spurt was part of a larger, 24-6 run to close out the game.
Nikola Vucevic recorded his 48th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Reserves Coby White and Patrick Williams added 19 and 12 points, respectively, part of Chicago’s 41-18 edge in bench points.
The Bulls also leveraged a staggering 18 Grizzlies turnovers into 31 points. Chicago committed just three total turnovers.
The second half was a mirror opposite of a first half that Memphis dominated with runs of 17-4 from the late first into the second quarter, and a 16-2 burst midway through the second.
Four Grizzlies scored at least 11 points by intermission, but the same quartet finished as Memphis’ only double-figure scorers for the game. Desmond Bane scored 21 points, Ja Morant notched 17 — part of a triple-double along with his 10 rebounds and 10 assists — and Dillon Brooks scored 14 points.
The loss marked just the Grizzlies’ second in its last 10 games.
