The Bulls put up up a valiant effort on Sunday afternoon despite being without Josh Giddey and Mata Buzelis.
On Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls knew they would be fighting and uphill battle with Matas Buzelis and the team leader in assists, Josh Giddey, out. It was another game in which it would have been fair to expect the Bulls to give up early, as was the case in the team's recent 136-96 loss to the New York Knicks, but instead, Chicago put up a great fight despite ultimately losing by 10 points on Easter Sunday.
The Bulls kept things tight early with a focus on getting out in transition early and often with their starting group of Isaac Okoro, Rob Dilllingham, Tre Jones, Leonard Miller, Collin Sexton and Guerschon Yabusele. This group was able to keep pace with a Suns team that was hot from 3-point range from the opening tip.
At halftime, the Bulls trailed 63-56, closing an early deficit behind 15 first half fastbreak points. Chicago's willingness to push the ball in transition masked a 4-19 shooting performance from 3-point range in the first half. Jones was great for Chicago--as he has been all year--and set the tone early with 15 points and 5 assists heading into the third quarter.
The Bulls continue to get extremely positive returns on forward Leonard Miller, who racked up a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss. Miller, who primarily scores using his long strides to the rim to finish, is showing a decent amount of growth as a 3-point shooter, which will be instrumental in his long-term development into a winning player. He shot 2-5 from 3-point range on Sunday, and is up to 50% from 3-point range in April.
Miller shot 3.9 attempts per game from 3-point in March (and hit them at a 31% clip) and it Is encouraging to see him attempting to space the floor even if the results aren't there yet. For now, Miller's defense, rebounding, and high activity level make him a great find for Chicago.
Chicago was outscored 34-26 in the fourth quarter, a frame in which Suns star Devin Booker had 8 points and an assist to ice the game for Phoenix. The Bulls had trouble containing the Suns perimeter duo of Jalen Green and Booker all game long. Green shot 3-4 from the field in the final frame, doing all of his damage in the paint. Dillomm Brooks scored 11 points for the Suns in the deciding fourth quarter, a period in which the Bulls defense allowed the Suns to shoot 61.9% from the field.
Jones' 29 points highlighted a night in which he attacked the paint at will, got to the free throw line (4-4 FTs), and continued to create defensive turnovers while limiting offensive ones (6 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers). Booker scored a game-high 30 points on the evening, spoiling what was poised to be a surprising Bulls comeback effort, with Chicago pulling within 3 points with just over three minutes left.
The Bulls solidified their 9th spot in the lottery odds for now with a record of 29-49, sitting just ahead of the now 31-47 Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls next go on the road to take on the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.