Bulls slam Nuggets despite Nikola Jokic’s third triple-double of the year

CHICAGO – As Zach LaVine elevated, the buzz from Bulls fans grew successful anticipation.

Nikola Jokic’s sloppy fourth-quarter turnover sullied his 3rd triple-double of the play and gave the United Center 1 much crushed to roar. LaVine threw it down, and the symptom kept coming for the Nuggets, who fell 109-97 to the resurgent Bulls connected Monday night.

With hardly six minutes remaining successful the fourth, Lonzo Ball smashed location an alley-oop that came little than a infinitesimal aft LaVine’s jam.

“I don’t person a game-plan for transition,” Nuggets manager Michael Malone said. “We tin speech astir defending a play, pick-and-roll, catch-and-shoot, station … modulation is effort. Transition is pride.”

Even though Jokic finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists – passing Larry Bird for the eighth-most triple-doubles successful NBA past — the Nuggets were cooked.

They fell to 11-12 connected the play and volition caput to New Orleans for their 5th of 7 consecutive roadworthy games.

Aaron Gordon (18 points) could bash thing to quell LaVine, who poured successful a game-high 32 points. Will Barton added 19 for the Nuggets, but connected conscionable 8-of-20 shooting from the field.

Chicago finished with a 44-28 borderline successful points successful the paint. The aforementioned slams felt similar they were worthy more.

The Bulls recovered retired little than 3 hours earlier tip-off that they’d beryllium without prima defender DeMar DeRozan owed to wellness and information protocols. Malone was adamant that didn’t matter. He maintained that the Bulls – with LaVine and Ball – had ample firepower from their backcourt.

He was right.

The Nuggets stammered retired of halftime successful overmuch the aforesaid mode they’d struggled against the Magic and the Knicks to unfastened caller 3rd quarters. Poor violative sets, rife with disfigured turnovers, kick-started a speedy 7-0 tally for the Bulls.

“My disappointment successful the nonaccomplishment contiguous is much the mode we came retired to commencement that 3rd quarter, again,” Malone said. “I conscionable asked our starters. I said, ‘What bash you privation maine to bash otherwise astatine halftime? I’ll bash it. Want maine to sing, privation maine to dance, privation maine to bash something? I’ll bash it.”

Jokic responded with the Nuggets reeling. He served up consecutive layups to Jeff Green and Barton, past ripped a bargain for an casual layup of his own. Around Jokic, the discourtesy flowed seamlessly and gave them a accidental to withstand LaVine’s violative theatrics. But erstwhile Jokic went to the bench, the Nuggets down 67-66 with 2:29 left, the wheels came off.

LaVine made 3 consecutive buckets, with each decorativeness ramping up the measurement successful the United Center. He was lone offset, slightly, by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Gordon. The Bulls carried each the momentum and a 77-71 pb into the 4th quarter

When these 2 teams met astir 3 weeks ago, the Nuggets didn’t person the luxury of their MVP center, who was retired owed to a wrist sprain. But a steadfast Jokic changes everything for the Nuggets’ aboriginal prospects.

“Nikola is the anchor of our defense,” Malone said anterior to the game. “The antiaircraft numbers carnivore that out. When he’s connected the floor, we person an elite level defense. Offensively, obviously, everything we bash we play done him.”

The Bulls tried to dilatory Jokic with double-teams, but helium picked isolated their antiaircraft strategy successful the archetypal fractional connected Monday. Denver carried a 49-46 pb into the interruption acknowledgment mostly to his well-rounded accumulation and an unselfish streak from the remainder of the roster. The Nuggets assisted connected 15 of 17 tract goals implicit the archetypal 2 quarters.

Jokic entered halftime with 7 points, 7 assists and 9 rebounds.

On aggregate occasions, helium broke done the defence by whipping passes 1 oregon 2 rotations ahead. The Nuggets took vantage of their newfound space, draining 8 of 19 3-pointers successful the archetypal half.

But erstwhile helium sat, unsurprisingly, Denver’s discourtesy crushed to a halt. Outside of Barton, who had 13 first-half points and benefitted from a second-unit stagger, the Nuggets’ reserves had small violative creation.

Ball and LaVine kept the Bulls wrong scope with 14 points each successful the archetypal half.