Chicago Bulls Shoot for Fourth Straight Win

Chicago won their third straight game as they took down the Rockets in overtime in their previous contest at home so they look to maintain their momentum here. The Bulls improved to 18-21 on the season and stand fourth in the Central Division entering Sunday, eight games behind the Bucks for the top spot. They were 9th in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, 4.5 games behind Cleveland for the final guaranteed playoff spot. The team held a 1.5-game lead over Atlanta to remain in the play-in tournament. Against Houston, Chicago led by four after the opening quarter, by eight at the half and by 11 after three quarters only to see the Rockets storm back to force overtime. During the extra session, the Bulls trailed by five with 2:50 remaining but scored the game’s final 10 points to earn the victory. Chicago shot 44.2% from the floor, including 19 of 47 from three-point range, and forced 14 turnovers in the game. Coby White led the Bulls with 30 points and eight assists in the victory.

For the year, Chicago stands 27th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 109.7 points per contest. The Bulls are 17th in rebounding as they collect an average of 43.5 boards a night while they are 29th in assists by handing out an average of 23.7 dimes per contest. Chicago is 8th in scoring defense as they allow an average of 111.7 points per game this season. Zach LaVine is second on the team with 20.3 points per contest on the year. DeMar DeRozan contributes 22 points, 3.8 rebounds plus 5.4 assists a night while Nikola Vucevic (16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds) and Ayo Dosunmu each are valuable options. Alex Caruso (9.9 points), Coby White (18.5 points, 4.9 assists), Andre Drummond, Torrey Craig, Jevon Carter and Patrick Williams (9.8 points) are looked at to provide valuable minutes as well. As a team, Chicago is 28th in the league in field goal percentage as they knock down 45.4% of their shots on the year. The Bulls are 26th in the league by knocking down 11.7 three-pointers per contest while they stand 21st by hitting 35.7% of their attempts from beyond the arc on the year.

Golden State Warriors Seeking to Stop Recent Slide

Golden State lost their second straight and their sixth in the last eight games as they were clobbered by the Pelicans at home in their previous game. The Warriors dropped to 17-20 on the season and entered Thursday in the basement of the Pacific Division, seven games behind the Clippers for the top spot. They were 12th in the Western Conference standings, nine games behind the Timberwolves for the top spot, 5.5 games behind the Pelicans for the final guaranteed playoff spot and 1.5 games behind the Rockets for the final spot in the play-in tournament. Against New Orleans, Golden State gave up the first six points and never led in the game. The Warriors were down 19 after one quarter, by 13 at the half and never got closer than 10 as they were flattened in the loss. Golden State shot 43.8% from the floor, including 12 of 39 from three-point range, and allowed New Orleans to shoot 57.4% in the game. Moses Moody led the Warriors with 21 points off the bench in the loss.

On the year, the Warriors are 10th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 116.8 points per game. Golden State stands 3rd in rebounding as they collect an average of 46.3 boards per contest while they are 6th in assists by handing out an average of 28 dimes per contest. The Warriors are 22nd in the league in scoring defense by allowing 117.6 points per contest. Stephen Curry leads the team with 26.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season. Andrew Wiggins adds 11.7 points per game while Draymond Green puts up 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per night. Klay Thompson (17.1 points), Kevon Looney, Chris Paul, Moses Moody, Dario Saric (10.3 points), Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga (12.8 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Golden State is 24th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.2% from the floor as a team on the year. The Warriors are fourth in the league in threes per game by knocking down 14.7 triples a night while they are 15th in three-point shooting by hitting 36.7% from beyond the arc as a team.