Clinging to the No. The Chicago Bulls, who opened a three-game homestand on Wednesday against a visiting Sacramento Kings team that was fighting for a place in the West and were ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference as of Tuesday, will be looking for their third win in a row.
After its three-game winning streak ended on Monday, Sacramento begins a four-game road trip in Chicago with the goal of reestablishing its winning streak. The Kings wasted a 15-point, first-half lead in their 133-124 misfortune to NBA-driving Milwaukee regardless of defining moments from De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter and Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 15 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season, but he was only able to shoot 3-of-11 after the break. Fox scored 35 points and Huerter hit 8 of 11 3-point attempts for 28 points, but neither player really came alive until after the break.
Sacramento dropped to 0-5 on the season in games with 130 or more points allowed after giving up 133. The sole exception is the historic double overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on February 24 by a score of 176-175.
The Kings are currently third in the Western Conference, one game behind Memphis and five and a half games behind Denver, which leads the conference. While Sacramento has the best offense in the NBA, scoring 121.3 points per game, it ranks third in scoring defense, allowing 118.6 points per game.
With a yield of 112.4 points per game, Chicago, on the other hand, is in the top 10 of the league when it comes to scoring defense.
After defeating Denver on Wednesday by a score of 117-96 and Houston on Saturday by a score of 119-111, the Bulls return home after winning two games on the road in which they held opponents to fewer points than that.
Chicago sits in the tenth spot in the East, which would be really great for the last play-in billet for the postseason. Through Monday’s games, Washington was only half a game ahead of the Bulls.
Chicago came back from a difficult third quarter in which it gave up 40 points to hold the Rockets to just 16 in the victory over Houston. DeMar DeRozan scored 10 of the Bulls’ 32 points in the quarter as they doubled up on the Rockets.
With four rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot in the fourth, Patrick Beverley was the driving force behind the comeback. Beverley scored 16 points to reach double digits for the first time since joining the Bulls’ roster following the All-Star break.
The inclusion of the former three-time All-Defensive selection in the lineup ought to play a significant role in Chicago’s efforts to reach the postseason for only the third time in the previous eight seasons.
