The Windy City Bulls sealed a spot in the win column with a 112-104 victory over the Wisconsin Herd on Tuesday. Mac McClung kept his incredible scoring streak going with 38 points in 42 minutes of play. Herd guard Cormac Ryan countered with 36 points as he sparked a one-man barrage from the 3-point line.
While the Bulls’ shooting specialists were able to get things going with a solid pace after a slow start, the Herd flew out to a comfortable early lead as Ryan nearly forgot how to miss from 3-point range. The former Notre Dame and UNC guard would lead the Herd’s long-range attack, which entered with one of the league’s best regular-season 3-point percentages, with 6 made shots on 10 tries. The Windy City would respond by splashing home 15 3-pointers, including seven from McClung, on 39 tries.
The Bulls’ ability to switch and counter the Herd’s ball movement nearly slowed Wisconsin’s offense to a halt until the end of the first quarter. Individual scoring, along with the occasional whip to an open wing, became the bread and butter of a Windy City offense that recorded 63 points by the end of the first half.
The Bulls have recorded the 3rd-most points per game in the league in their last six games, but haven’t been able to hold off their foes’ firepower as their defensive rating ranks 24th in the league over the same stretch. Chicago managed to score an average of about 137 points per contest in two matchups with Raptors 905, a regular-season high for the Chicago Bulls affiliate, but allowed 141 points twice on their way to two close losses. The Bulls held the Herd to 44% from the field and 34.4% from the 3-point line in the Tuesday-night win as they continued the season sweep over their Midwestern counterparts.
The Bulls will move on to face the Maine Celtics, who entered the Tuesday bout tied with the Windy City at six games behind the Osceola Magic for first place in the Eastern Conference. Maine held its own on defense during the Tip-Off Tournament, but has since posted the 17th-highest defensive rating at 113.6. The Celtics barely scraped by the Delaware Blue Coats in a weekend win, but have tumbled to a 2-6 record this month following bouts across the Midwest and East Coast. Maine will face the Long Island Nets, who the Windy City split a regular-season series with earlier this month, before heading back home to take on the Bulls.
The Windy City Bulls will tip off against the Maine Celtics at 6 p.m. CST on Friday in the Portland Expo Building. The game will be broadcast on the Chicago Sports Network.
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