The Windy City Bulls fought their way back into the win column with a 133-127 win over the Long Island Nets on Friday. Guard Mac McClung, who signed a two-way deal with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, took point for the Windy City’s own with 33 points. He paired with a two-way backcourt partner in Yuki Kawamura, who earned 25 points of his own, to log a combined 20 assists. Long Island forward E.J. Liddell countered with 32 points for the Nets, which fell to 1-1 against the Bulls in regular-season play following the Friday-night bout.
The Nets proved victorious in an initial back-and-forth battle through the efforts of forward Trevon Scott, who tacked on eight of Long Island’s first 12 points as it cruised out to an early lead. The former Cleveland Charge forward would finish the night with 16 points as he attacked the rim with flashy finishes and floaters. Windy City big Giorgi Bezhanishvili, once a three-year standout for the Illinois Fighting Illini, fought hard inside to keep the Bulls level as an anchor on both sides of the floor. The Bulls would barely win the battle on the boards with 46 rebounds, including 14 on offense, to the Nets’ 45.
The Bulls leaned heavily on their starters for some scoring consistency in the conference showdown. The Windy City starting five accounted for just over 81% of the Bulls’ points on the night. Their bench contributors, who rank near last in the league in points per game, notched just 17 points by the halftime horn. Forward Keyshawn Bryant still ended the game with a perfect clip from the floor as he followed up a 30-point outing in the Windy City’s loss to the Nets on Thursday.
While the Bulls managed to stay on pace with the Nets before the end of the first half by outpacing them in the 3-point game, Long Island fought back with a long-range scoring streak of its own to seemingly put the game out of reach in the third quarter. It wouldn’t stop the Windy City from fighting back just when it needed to most with a number of clutch jumpers, including two in a row from guard Caleb Grill. The Bulls outshone the Nets from beyond the arc with a 48.5% clip to Long Island’s 28.2%.
The Bulls entered the night with an even 8-8 record in the regular season and at 7-7 in the league’s Tip-Off Tournament, which marks the beginning of the G League season. Long Island, which sits at seventh in the Eastern Conference after the Friday bout, sported a top-5 defensive rating of just over 109 over its first 18 regular-season games. The Windy City still managed to hit just under 47% of its shots from the floor, but a strong Nets defense never let it get too comfortable until the game’s final minutes as it swatted away six shots to pair with eight steals.
The Bulls will move on to face the Grand Rapids Gold, who started the month of February with a two-game skid against the Nets and Raptors 905. The Bulls last battled the Gold in the Tip-Off Tournament, where they ended a short series with a 1-1 split behind two highlight nights from two-way center Lachlan Olbrich. The Gold will face Raptors 905 once more before heading to Hoffman Estates, where the Bulls hold a 4-4 regular-season record following the Friday win.
The Bulls will take on the Gold at 7 p.m. CST on Feb. 11 in NOW Arena. The game can be streamed on Chicago Sports Network Plus.
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