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Zach LaVine’s hot hand, Bulls’ dominant second half key win at Sixers

Anyone could pull up a box score and write off the Bulls’ 126-112 win at Philadelphia upon realizing Sixers star center Joel Embiid didn’t play.

Embiid is undefeated against the Bulls, so a 14-point win in his place would certainly have commanded a different type of attention. But any dismissal of Chicago’s rare road triumph against the 76ers — the Bulls’ first since 2017 — would ignore one of the team’s finest performances this season.

The Bulls staged a 31-point turnaround, taking an 18-point lead and never trailing in the second half after falling behind by as many as 13 in the first half. A spectacular, almost incredible 40-point third quarter was the difference. Zach LaVine, with his sharpshooting, and Patrick Williams, with arguably his most impactful period as a pro, combined for 35 of those points. Nikola Vučević had the other five.

They were the stars of the night, and their individual efforts cannot be ignored.

LaVine lights it up from long range

LaVine’s hot hand will be remembered most.

He scored a game-high 41 points on 14-of-19 shooting, making 11 of 13 3-pointers. He hit his first eight 3s before the first misfire came late in the third quarter. Prior to that, he was 5-for-5 from long distance in the quarter. His 19 points in the period are the second most he has scored in any quarter this season, trailing only his 20-point fourth quarter at Brooklyn on Halloween night.

But this was far from a one-man takeover. It didn’t look like LaVine’s night until midway through the third quarter. What won’t be remembered as much as his hot shooting is how LaVine started the game spraying passes and working the ball around. He had five assists before halftime. His first-half scoring, an efficient 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, came within the flow of the team’s offense.

LaVine’s lights-out accuracy on catch-and-shoot opportunities also popped. Seven of his 3-pointers came without using a dribble. It’s a simplified method Bulls coach Billy Donovan has worked to incorporate more into LaVine’s package. LaVine still likes the ball in his hands with the ability to create rather than simply catch and shoot. But he showed how effective he is when he gets in a zone.

Vučević records triple-double

Vučević performed as one would expect going against smaller and far inferior Sixers backups — he dominated.

Vooch played a critical role throughout, first by exploiting shorter defenders inside and cleaning the defensive glass, then by threading passes. He scored 19 points with 18 rebounds, 10 assists and two blocked shots. It was his fifth career triple-double and his second as a member of the Bulls.

Before halftime, Vučević had gobbled 12 rebounds. Given the Bulls’ struggles lately closing out defensive possessions by securing rebounds, his commitment was commendable. His second-half passing was important.

Vučević racked up eight assists after halftime. He shifted from a receiver in the first half to a quarterback in the second, repeatedly serving as an emergency outlet when the Sixers started sending double-teams at LaVine. Each time, Vučević delivered the simple yet proper pass to the next open man, easily picking apart what remained of Philly’s defense. His 10 helpers equated to 25 Bulls points.

“I thought Vooch was the MVP of the night,” LaVine told the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast after the game.

Williams is growing up

Two nights earlier, teammates couldn’t stop teasing Williams.

Let’s be specific. DeMar DeRozan and LaVine wouldn’t stop.

Williams sat at his locker patiently responding to a series of questions from a crowd of reporters following the Bulls’ win over Brooklyn on Wednesday. At every chance, DeRozan or LaVine interjected, criticizing Williams’ answers, for better and for worse.

“Tell ’em, Pat,” they belted.

“Way to lead us, rook,” DeRozan said.

That one got Williams’ attention, prompting him to pivot in mid-sentence.

“You said ‘rook?'” Williams shot back at DeRozan.

DeRozan said it again.

“Stop playing, bro,” Williams said.

With consecutive eye-popping performances, it seems Williams is forcing teammates to put some respect on his name. And it was something the third-year forward said following his season-high 22-point night against Kevin Durant and the Nets that foreshadowed Friday.

“This game doesn’t affect the next game,” Williams said Wednesday. “The next game, you’ve got to show it again. Prove it again.”

What a week it has been for Williams. It started with a costly missed box-out in Cleveland on Monday. His hump day featured the daunting defensive assignment on Durant. Two nights later, it was KD’s former teammate, James Harden. Twenty-four hours later, it’ll be former teammate Lauri Markkanen, a man on a mission this season, an All-Star in the making and in the running for the league’s Most Improved Player award.

Williams keeps showing up to work.

He helped limit Harden to 17 points on 4-of-17 shooting Friday. Harden had seven rebounds, 11 assists and only one turnover. But he never found his comfort zone as a scorer. Again, Williams had to focus on the opponent’s most lethal option while also supplying something offensively himself. Quietly, he’s growing pretty good at it.

Williams finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes. He netted 16 of his points in the third quarter, making all seven field goal attempts.

In one two-minute stretch, Williams showed glimpses of his two-way talent and how he can ensure his presence is felt. First, he contested a Harden stepback 3 before leaking out for a transition dunk off an outlet pass from DeRozan. Later, he dropped down in the lane for a help block against Montrezl Harrell at one end before finishing an authoritative putback dunk at the other.

Williams made smart cuts, canned two of five 3s and took care of the basketball (one turnover), all while tasked with slowing down one of the league’s slipperiest players.

He couldn’t have performed better.

In less than 24 hours, he must do it again.

(Photo of Zach LaVine: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

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