Bulls on a Back-to-Back

Chicago plays the Indiana Pacers in a crucial Eastern Conference showdown and will be on the second leg of a back-to-back for this one. They were demolished against the visiting Dallas Mavericks two nights prior in an ugly 127-92 finish. Onuralp Bitim led Chicago with 17 points. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each scored 13. They have lost two in a row and gave up 60 points in the paint to the Mavericks. “We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We’ve got to be more pulled in than we were. … We kind of were too worried with getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, hey, we’re gonna take away the roll.”

Coby White shot 4-of-14 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line in the Mavs loss, scoring 12 points with two rebounds, one assist, and one 3-pointer in 27 minutes. One of the bigger surprises in basketball this season, White had a disappointing Monday night. The 12 points are the fewest he’s scored in a game since February 27 (10 vs. Detroit), and he had more turnovers (two) than assists (one) for the second consecutive game.

Clippers Lose Leonard

The Clippers led by 22 points early in the first half before hugely squandering the lead, getting blown out 118-100. Paul George scored 22 points and James Harden had 12. After trailing 57-35 midway through the second quarter, Minnesota seized control in the second half and finished the team’s largest comeback since November 2012. The Wolves took their first lead early in the third quarter, and the Clippers managed just 15 points with nine turnovers in the quarter.

They have lost two straight games for only the second time since Christmas. Kawhi Leonard left the game between the first two quarters. He played the entire first quarter but was seen leaving the Clippers’ downtown arena during the second quarter. After the game, the Clippers officially released that Leonard left due to back spasms, and he was uncomfortable sitting on the bench, which resulted in him leaving the arena altogether. Amir Coffey and Norman Powell should see extra minutes in his place for this contest against the Bulls, as I cannot imagine Leonard suiting up. Look for Paul George and James Harden to shoulder more of the load with him out.