Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

MILWAUKEE — DeMar DeRozan would trade the honor for a victory.

But DeRozan became the only player besides Michael Jordan in Chicago Bulls franchise history to post at least 40 points and 10 assists in Monday’s overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

DeRozan finished with a season-high 41 points and 11 assists. It’s DeRozan’s third game over the last four with double-digit assits.

“Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a helluva accomplishment,” DeRozan said. “I never take none of that for granted.”

Jordan being Jordan, he of course performed the feat nine times. The last time came on Dec. 23, 1992 against the Washington Wizards. So it’s 31 years between Jordan and DeRozan authoring such stat lines.

DeRozan also forced overtime with his floater in the waning seconds of regulation.

But DeRozan saved his highest praise for Coby White, who continued his recent strong stretch with six 3-pointers and a season-high 33 points.

“Amazing,” DeRozan said. “He can do more too. I’m just happy people are starting to see how talented and how much of a competitor he is. I worked out with him all summer. Just to see how much he wants it, how much he asks questions, how humble he is about the approach. It’s amazing to be his teammate and see his growth.”

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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

MILWAUKEE — The Chicago Bulls’ four-game win streak ended Monday night at Fiserv Forum following a 133-129 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Here are 10 observations:

—DeMar DeRozan had a masterful game but struggled down the stretch, finishing with 41 points and 11 assists. After missing his first six shots in the fourth quarter and biting on Damian Lillard’s shot fake with 12 seconds left and fouling him, DeRozan scored with 3.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. But his shots came up short as he logged 40-plus minutes on the front end of a back-to-back set of games. This time, he looked to score and be aggressive with his shot early, which opened up his passing game late. He had one veteran recognition of a Nikola Vucevic mismatch in the fourth quarter in which he called for that side of the floor to clear out before feeding Vucevic, who scored on a goaltended shot. DeRozan assisted on six 3-pointers for teammates. It’s his third game in the last four with double-digit assists.

—Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t reach double figures until almost midway through the third quarter. Obviously, no one defender slows the two-time MVP. And Antetokounmpo did have six assists before he reached double figures. But Patrick Williams took one charge and overall followed his pregame strategy of “putting his body in play.” When asked what it’s like to guard Antetokounmpo, Williams said he couldn’t really explain it, that one just had to experience it.

Down the stretch, Antetokounmpo exerted his will, bullying his way to a huge three-point play with 3 minutes left for a five-point lead. He also sank his free throws, finishing 14-for-18 from the stripe as part of his 32-point, 18-rebound, six-assist night.

—With six 3-pointers, Coby White extended his franchise record of consecutive games with at least three 3-pointers to 11. White has sank 53 3-pointers in that stretch and now ranks in the top-five in the NBA in made 3-pointers. It’s a remarkable rise for a player who struggled from beyond the arc early this season. But the Bulls didn’t utilize White’s hot shooting night down the stretch. White didn’t attempt a 3-pointer from the 1:36 mark of the fourth quarter until the final possession of overtime.

—Alex Caruso’s sprained left ankle is improving enough for him to warm up pregame, but he missed the contest, which is the first of a back-to-back set of games. Losing Caruso and his defensive work against such a talented offensive team was obviously a blow.

—With Caruso out, Ayo Dosunmu drew the start. The Bulls reverted to their slow start ways by trailing by 10 for the seventh double-digit deficit in the opening period this season. But following a Billy Donovan timeout, the Bulls responded with a 10-2 run. This has been more typical of late for the Bulls—a response to adverse moments. Nevertheless, Dosunmu’s slow start continued as he missed his first six shots and didn’t score.

—The Bulls struggled getting properly matched up in defensive transition on multiple occasions, especially early. Jevon Carter was matched against Robin Lopez one time. Ayo Dosunmu landed on Bobby Portis on another possession. The Bucks scored six fast-break points and 14 points in the paint as part of a 37-point first quarter.

—The Bulls also struggled defensively to control the 3-point line. Several of their closeouts were either poor or late and when they did execute them, players often closed out without getting a hand up to contest the shot. Obviously, Antetokounmpo demands so much attention—and often double-teams. But the Bulls were a step slow in allowing 74 first-half points, the highest points total allowed in a half all season.

The rotations became much crisper in the second half, particularly from Torrey Craig, who was everywhere defensively before fouling out. Craig took Caruso’s role in the closing lineup.

—Dalen Terry packed plenty into a seven-minute, first-half rotational turn. He sank a 3-pointer and had an assist, block and foul. He also played solid positional defense on Antetokoumpo once and Khris Middleton another time, although Middleton scored on a tough bank shot to end that possession.

Terry’s strong minutes led Donovan to play him the first 4:39 of the fourth quarter. Terry had a wide-open look on a corner 3-pointer that would’ve given the Bulls their first lead of the game. But he missed it and Malik Beasley dunked it in transition at the other end for a four-point Bucks lead.

—The Bulls, who have been a low-turnover team all season, committed just six against the Bucks.

—At 41.2 percent, the Bulls shot exactly 10 percentage points lower than the Bucks and still had opportunities to steal a victory on the road.

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DeMar DeRozan is 53 points away from catching his latest legend—Clyde Drexler—on the all-time scoring list.

But it’s DeRozan’s passing ability that has stood out in the team’s four-game win streak. After sitting out the first victory, DeRozan has averaged 7.7 assists in the next three victories, including two games with a season-high 10 assists.

“I give him a ton of credit,” coach Billy Donovan said following Sunday’s practice at the Advocate Center. “We had talked a little bit during the offseason. For him, he’s almost in a lot of ways like another point guard out there with his understanding of the game and his vision and how smart he is. And I think he knows there’s going to be attention given to him and can he help facilitate and be quick with his decisions and be aggressive. He’s done a remarkable job getting off the ball, helping us play with good pace, generating good shots for guys.”

DeRozan obviously has the ability get a shot up on any possession he wants. It’s where he’s made his living over his illustrious 15-year career.

But it’s almost as if DeRozan is willingly taking a back seat, at least initially in games, in the Bulls’ resurgence of ball movement. Then, when the game slows down or crunch time begins, he looks to assert more scoring-wise.

“I don’t ever feel like I gotta score 30, 40 points for us to win. Getting everybody else involved and making that a contagious thing early in the game is beneficial for us all,” DeRozan said. “There comes a point in the game where it’s time to slow down and it’s time to get a bucket. That’s where those same guys lean on me to try to make that happen. It’s a feel for us both.

“Those guys know early on, my goal is to get everybody else going, get everybody else feeling comfortable so it’s difficult to guard us. If the game is close and it’s time for me to do my job, I try to do that to the best of my ability.”

Asked what this kind of trust in his teammates does for the team’s collective confidence, Patrick Williams, who has been of the beneficiaries, didn’t hesitate.

“I just think that’s him. He’s had that since Day One. If you look to the beginning of the season, he’s been making these same plays. We weren’t making shots as much as we are now. We knew that was going to change. But he’s always been the guy that if he passes to you, he doesn’t care if you miss or make the shot as long as you shoot it and keep the defense honest. He’ll pass to you again the next time,” Williams said. “That’s why he’s been so good. Defenses have to be honest because they know how unselfish he is.”

The Bulls have climbed out of the basement in assists per game, now ranking 29^th but still with a mere 23.1 per game. That’s a reflection of the poor shooting earlier in the season. But the fact the Bulls have posted a season-high 32 assists in two of the four-game win streak and 23—on a poor shooting night—and 27 in the other two victories indicates how much better things have been.

“There are a lot more actions. It’s not one action, pass and the ball gets stagnant. That was a challenge for us,” Williams said. “There are a lot more pick-and-rolls for me, Coby (White) and Ayo (Dosunmu), a lot more closeouts for us as well.

“Everybody has a feel now of how to play off each other. I think we’re getting that chemistry going. I think backdoor cuts are a direct correlation of chemistry, just locking eyes and kind of knowing.”

And Donovan still believes there’s potential for more growth. Specifically, he wants DeRozan ahead of the ball for hit-ahead passes on defensive possessions that end with a missed shot and DeRozan not rebounding.

“Not that he needs to run to the corner but just ahead of the ball where we can throw it to him in open space. Now we can get his playmaking and his IQ into the game,” Donovan said. “Now he can generate for himself and for others.

“I think he’s also smart enough to understand that he’s not going to be able to do anything without all of us. He keeps everybody engaged because he knows coming down the stretch if they start trapping him and guys are not involved in the game, it’s hard to make shots in those situations. I trust him in terms of his IQ and how he plays the game and his heart to make decisions that are best for the team.”

DeRozan agreed.

“Me getting ahead of the ball, having the ball in my hands, I know the defense is going to collapse to me. And it’s on me to find guys. It’s fun being able to find guys, getting guys confidence. And it makes my job easier,” he said. “I understand there are part of the game where teams are worried about Coby or Pat or Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) and now I can get an easier shot, an easier layup or I can create an opportunity to get to the foul line. It’s just reading the game.

“That’s where the success is coming from. It’s just not one person. It’s all of us. I shot the ball terribly (in San Antonio). But it didn’t matter because everybody else was ready and stepped up.”

As for DeRozan’s opportunities to get to the foul line, it’s not like he’s shooting a poor percentage from there. He’s at 80.3 percent. But he’s career 83.9 percent free-throw shooter and connected at 87.7 and 87.2 percent his first two seasons with the Bulls.

DeRozan is well aware of this.

“Man, it’s terrible. Trust me. I hear it from my daughters every day. My daughters tell me every day, ‘Stop missing free throws. Why are you missing free throws? You told me you wasn’t going to miss free throws.’ The pressure is coming from them,” DeRozan said. “It’s going to change. Over the last couple years, I pride myself to shoot above 86 percent from the line. It’s just one of those bad stretches.”

DeRozan’s routine of returning to the Advocate Center at night may make sure of that.

“When I come back to shoot at night, I always gotta make 100 free throw before I leave the gym. A lot of times, I don’t count the ones that hit the rim,” DeRozan said. “It’s more so me putting pressure on myself to be perfect instead of just shooting them. But it ain’t gonna last.”

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The Chicago Bulls won their fourth straight game for the first time since February 2022 after they beat the San Antonio Spurs on the road Friday night.

Here are 10 observations from the 121-112 victory:

—With 21 points and 16 rebounds, Nikola Vucevic posted his third double-double over the last four games. Vucevic has talked about having more opportunity because obviously one of the team’s primary scorers in Zach LaVine is out. He had a big third quarter with seven points. Vucevic joined Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis as the only players this season with at least three games of 20 points and 15 rebounds.

—Already without LaVine, the Bulls suffered a potentially significant blow when Alex Caruso stepped on Coby White’s foot and exited the game for good with a left ankle injury at the 10 minute, 42 second mark of the fourth quarter. Caruso slapped the floor in disgust after he landed and had to be helped to the locker room by the training staff. Caruso has missed time with and also played through a left toe strain. This is a new injury.

—Torrey Craig tied his career-high with five 3-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter alone. Craig scored a season-high 16 points and helped the Bulls finish 13-for-28 from 3-point range after a slow start.

—That the Spurs have lost 16 straight and it’s not even the longest losing streak in the NBA is wild with a capital W. The Detroit Pistons dropped their 19^th straight game on Friday.

—Breaking: Victor Wembanyama is going to be good—really, really good. The Bulls’ first look at the French sensation confirmed the teenager has special skills that range from shotblocking to shooting to ballhandling. On one sequence, he tapped a defensive rebound to himself despite Nikola Vucevic holding inside possession, dribbled the length of the court and drew a foul on a driving layup attempt. Ridiculous.

Wembanyama, who had a double-double in the first half, finished with 21 points, season-high 20 rebounds and four blocks and altered several other shots.

—After winning three straight first quarters, the Bulls’ opening-period woes returned. The Bulls shot just 9-for-31 and managed 24 points in the first 12 minutes. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich broke out a zone at times, which White burned for one 3-pointer. But overall, the Bulls struggled to find any kind of consistent shooting.

—There was one bright spot to the first quarter. Rookie Julian Phillips played early again and threw down an impressive dunk. While the second-round pick remains raw and needs experience, he makes you notice he’s in the game every time.

—Not only did DeMar DeRozan miss nine of 10 first-half shots, he airballed two attempts. That’s something that doesn’t happen often. The 1-for-10 shooting matched the worst shooting half of his illustrious career.

DeRozan’s struggles for two more misses in the second half, making him 1-for-12 before he scored back-to-back baskets. But to DeRozan’s credit, he got to the free-throw line 10 times and also finished with 10 assists for the second time in three games.

DeRozan kept working the game and finished with 20 points despite shooting 7-for–24. He also added three steals.

—Patrick Williams threw down three first-half dunks and tried to dunk one other, drawing a foul. Williams attempting to dunk everything and playing aggressively is a good development for the Bulls. After having his six-game streak of double-figure scoring snapped on Wednesday versus the Charlotte Hornets, Williams started possibly a new streak with a season-high-tying 20 points.

—White sank two 3-pointers as part of a 12-0, third-quarter run that pushed the Bulls, who once trailed by 13, ahead for the first time since 5-4. The first of those 3-pointers extended White’s franchise record to 10 straight games with at least three 3-pointers. The second gave White another franchise record—the most 3-pointers over a 10-game stretch. White’s 46^th 3-pointer in his last 10 games snapped Zach LaVine’s record of 45, which LaVine did on three separate 10-game occasions.

White scored a game-high 24 points and added six assists.

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It may certainly be more compelling, and definitely less odd, to have one of the three teams from the Chicago Bulls’ first three-peat of the 1990s dynasty to face off against one of the three teams from the second three-peat as we Settle the Argument of the greatest team in franchise history.

But simulated games don’t lie. And with the help of our partners at Strat-O-Matic, the No. 3-seeded 1996-97 Bulls upset the No. 2-seeded 1991-92 Bulls in one semifinal matchup.

You knew which team would be waiting out of the other semifinal matchup—the 72-win 1995-96 Bulls. This is the team many consider to be the greatest of all-time in the NBA.

And who, outside of some people in the Bay Area and perhaps some elder Celtics or Lakers fans, is to argue? The 1995-96 Bulls not only won a then-record 72 games but posted a net rating of plus-13.4.

They didn’t just beat opponents. They played them into submission.

Will they do the same to the 1996-97 team that won 69 games? We have real play-by-play and box scores to show you.

Game 1

We’re not going to lie: This matchup presents some odd matchups. Obviously, Scottie Pippen would guard Michael Jordan and vice versa. But moving past the odd picture of a Luc Longley vs. Longley opening tip, who’s keeping Dennis Rodman off the boards?

Not the 1996-97 version of Rodman.

The 1995-96 Rodman had his best offensive showing of the playoffs with 11 points and 21 rebounds, seven of them offensive. That led to putbacks on the rare occurrence that Jordan missed—which wasn’t much since he scored 51 points.

The 1996-97 Jordan shot just 8-for-24. Ballgame, 112-101.

Game 2

Jordan scored 29 points, Pippen added 24 and Toni Kukoc joined the party with 20 as the 1995-96 team took a commanding, 2-0 series lead with a 109-86 cakewalk.

How easy was it? How does 34 fast-break points and just 12 turnovers sound? Like we said, this team didn’t just beat opponents. They played them into submission.

And they defended to no end. The 1996-97 team shot just 36 percent.

Game 3

If the 1996-97 team was going to win any game in the series, role players would have to step up. And that’s exactly what happened in their 115-109 triumph.

Ron Harper sank a huge 3-pointer and Rodman scored on a fast break to thwart a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the 1995-96 team.

Pippen’s 32 points led five in double figures, helping the 1996-97 team survive an off night from Jordan, who managed 18 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Harper scored 21 points, while Steve Kerr added 19.

Game 4

The most dominant aspect to the 1995-96 team is how they could beat teams at either end. That’s how good their No. 1-ranked offense and No. 1-ranked defense were. They could provide in that moment what the game needed.

And so it was with a relatively ho-hum 107-97 victory in which the 1996-97 team managed just 44 percent shooting.

Longley, as he often did, scored most of his 10 points in the first quarter. And Jordan (29 points), Pippen (21) and Kukoc (14) took it from there, putting the 1995-96 team on the precipice of victory.

Game 5

Jordan in closeout games meant Jordan in attack mode. Translated: Expect many trips to the basket and/or free-throw line.

The 1995-96 team trailed by as many as 19 in the first half. No bother. Jordan kept attacking and sank 16 of 17 free throws as part of his 28 points in the taut 102-99 victory.

And that’s a wrap. The 1995-96 team is the greatest Bulls team of all-time, by virtue of a 4-1 series victory over the 1996-97 team and with the help of our partners at Strat-0-Matic, who supplied simulated games with play-by-play and box scores.

Reading through these is like reading a good book, hearkening back to a sublime time in Chicago sports, a time when the Bulls authored one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.

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Zach LaVine learned that the Chicago Bulls medical team advised him to rest his inflamed right foot for an additional and estimated three to four weeks before Wednesday’s third straight victory.

Given the opportunity to address reporters following the game, LaVine chose to push his media availability to Thursday so as not to take the spotlight away from his teammates.

LaVine also wanted to travel to Friday’s game in San Antonio—and plans to be around the team moving forward—but couldn’t because he just received a PRP injection as part of his new treatment plan.

LaVine also expressed his excitement for the Bulls’ three-game win streak, said he appreciated being able to tell his teammates on Wednesday of his latest development before addressing reporters and generally sounded like an extremely committed teammate eager to implement his talents into the newfound offensive success.

Obviously, this all flies in the face of the off-the-court speculation surrounding LaVine, who previously didn’t—for the first time—shoot down the theory that he’d be open to playing elsewhere.

“First off, the storylines that are out there right now about me is on both. It’s something that wasn’t said completely verbally to the media. It’s something that is behind closed doors that a bunch of narratives can get spun around and said about me and stories will be portrayed,” LaVine said at the Advocate Center. “And that’s part of the business. I think that comes with it.

“Am I still a part of this team and very committed? Yeah. I got a Bulls jersey on. I committed here. And for as long as I’ll be here, I’ll still support and love Chicago and go out there and play my heart out for those guys. That’s never going to change.

“There’s going to be different stories and narratives. And there’s going to be off-the-court stuff that’s going to be dealt with. For me, as long as I’m here with a Bulls jersey on, I’m going to play as hard as I can for my teammates and continue to be the best player and teammate I can be. Simple as that.”

The first sentence of the above quote is the most important. That LaVine raised that the off-the-court speculation “is on both (sides)” hammers home the root of LaVine’s frustration. He’s well aware that the Bulls tried to trade him last summer, and he’s also grown tired of the internal debate within the organization on whether he can be a lead player on a championship-contending team.

But LaVine’s commitment to his teammates? And his genuine appreciation that the Bulls signed him to a maximum contract even as the internal debate about his on-court decision-making and winning pedigree played out? Those are both as genuine as the diamond earrings that flashed in LaVine’s earlobes.

“It’s a team sport, a team game. We go through a lot of stuff together in that locker room,” LaVine said. “It’s a group of guys that fight together. We travel all the way around the world together.”

The off-court speculation surrounding LaVine intensified greatly in the wake of Wednesday’s late update. Given that he’ll be sidelined past the Dec. 15 date on which more players are eligible to be traded and close to the Jan. 15 date when some Los Angeles Lakers assets are first eligible to be dealt, there even is thought that LaVine has played his last game as a Bull.

“I don’t think about anything like that,” LaVine said. “The main thing I’m thinking about is getting my foot right, help these guys continue winning and playing like this.”

And about that right foot. LaVine said he actually was trying to ramp up to play Wednesday night, or maybe on Friday in San Antonio, when the inflammation worsened.

“I’ve been trying to train and do active rehab to get back out there. That didn’t work,” LaVine said. “It had a little bit of a—I don’t want to say setback—but it got more sore to where it didn’t make sense to try to play on it continuously. Rest for a little bit. Get some PRP. Hopefully that will do some good things for it. Continue to promote that healing and check back in a week or two and see where you’re at.

“It’s something I’ve been trying to deal with and get back to 100 percent. We’ve done different things to try to get it back to where it is. It’s playing with it and then sitting out a game. It felt like it was going to be a couple days getting back on the foot. And then it went to, ‘Alright, let’s give it some rest. Give it two games or a week and them ramp back up.’

“I was trying to play actually (Wednesday) or Friday. But ramping up, it didn’t respond well. And now they’re looking at more of a set date of letting it rest or calm down because we don’t want to play to a point or a threshold where it’s unbearable.”

LaVine has played through injuries in the past. The most celebrated example came when he played in a contract season through knee pain that required a surgical procedure in the 2022 offseason.

“You guys all know: I don’t pull punches. I try to play through everything. I was playing through this earlier. It’s tough. It’s the lateral side of my right foot that’s a little inflamed—not even a little bit, it’s pretty inflamed—and it bugs you. It’s a bony, prominent area where you really don’t want to start messing around with that fifth metatarsal area. It gets more irritated. It’s just smart to calm it down now to where I can get back to 100 percent and hopefully finish this season strong and help everybody out there.

“I think it’s funny (this is tied to off-court speculation). For everybody that knows me, I try to play through everything. This has nothing to do with anything off the court and everything off the court is still very much speculation. It’s funny to me to see all the narratives that people run with. I deal with it internally. It is what it is. I go out there and put my heart on for Chicago whenever I put that jersey on. When I get back out there, I’ll continue to do that.”

LaVine has been one of the most prominent cheerleaders in street clothes from the bench.

“I’m happy for the team. If I’m not happy for the team, that would be saying something about me. I’m the first guy out there. However you gotta get a win, get a win. We’re in a spot where early we weren’t looking very good. And whatever may have sparked it, if it was me off the court and that’s a narrative that people want to run with it, we’ve won three games. I’m happy for it,” LaVine said. “Me off the court, on the court, hopefully I can get this foot right to get back out there and help my guys. I’ve been in the locker room every day and out here training trying to get back out there to help everybody out because it’s fun when you’re winning.”

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The Chicago Bulls are 3-0 since Zach LaVine succumbed to right foot soreness that the team originally said would be re-evaluated on Friday.

Instead, the Bulls expedited that process and announced following Wednesday’s home victory over the Charlotte Hornets that LaVine will be out “an additional estimated three to four more weeks” with what now is being called right foot inflammation.

The team made the announcement after media access had concluded, but coach Billy Donovan and players already had addressed the theme of how well the team has played in LaVine’s absence.

“I think it’s given us a lot of confidence. Obviously, with Zach out, being the caliber of player he is, it allows for more opportunity. But you can’t replace Zach LaVine,” Coby White said. “We try to do it collectively and try to make up for what he does on the floor.”

The Bulls posted season-highs of 32 assists in consecutive victories over the Bucks and Pelicans. And while Wednesday’s victory over the Hornets wasn’t as artful offensively, eight players scored at least six points and the Bulls finished with 23 assists despite shooting just 42.2 percent.

“We still have to clean up on a lot of things,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We can get a lot better offensively with our execution. We still haven’t scratched the surface of how good we can be.”

LaVine typically sits on the bench during games in street clothes but spent Wednesday’s game getting evaluated. If LaVine misses three more weeks, he’d miss nine games. If the injury stretches to four weeks, he’d miss 13.

LaVine won’t travel to San Antonio for Friday’s game but will address reporters on Thursday.

DeRozan scored 29 points and finished plus-17 against the Hornets. White finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists and is playing the best all-around basketball of his career. Nikola Vucevic posted his second double-double in three games since LaVine went down. Ayo Dosunmu has played well in LaVine’s absence, although he had four turnovers against Charlotte. And Alex Caruso is Alex Caruso, with teammates even stumping for him to make his first All-Star appearance this season.

“All-Star AC 2024,” White said lightheartedly postgame.

LaVine has struggled through a disappointing season to this point. He’s shooting just 44.3 percent overall and 33.6 percent from 3-point range, both below his career percentages. And his decision-making has at times stalled the Bulls’ desire to play faster, all while being open for the first time to a change of address.

While his teammates have supported him and said all the right things, his presence and the consistent losing created near-daily distractions. At least for the last three games, with winning obviously changing vibes, that storyline has dissipated.

Wednesday’s news can’t be viewed without the backdrop of LaVine and the Bulls both being open to finding him a new home. In fact, as recently as Monday’s practice, Donovan said LaVine was “a lot better than he was when he was first diagnosed” and that LaVine was “optimistic.”

LaVine also typically plays through injuries, including playing in a contract season through a knee injury that needed an arthroscopic procedure during the offseason.

Instead, he’ll be sidelined for the foreseeable future. The NBA doesn’t really open for business on trades until Dec. 15, when many players who signed deals in the offseason are first eligible to be dealt.

In the case of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the teams who may show interest in LaVine, some of their assets can’t be dealt until Jan. 15.

LaVine was one of the most vocal cheerleaders from the bench the last two games. It’s a spot he’ll have to get used to over the coming weeks as his injury and trade sagas play out simultaneously.

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The Chicago Bulls won their third straight without Zach LaVine by beating the Charlotte Hornets 111-100 on Wednesday night at the United Center.

Here are 10 observations from the victory:

—Coby White made franchise history. He finished 3-of-7 from the 3-point line, his ninth straight game with at least three 3-pointers. That broke the record he shared with Lauri Markkanen entering the night and it extended his NBA-long streak this season. White also drew two charges, pushing his team-high total to eight. That’s tied for third-most in the NBA.

–Alex Caruso returned to the lineup after exiting Saturday’s victory at halftime with a re-aggravation of his left toe strain. Ayo Dosunmu, who started in Caruso’s place for that second half, returned to a reserve role and quickly replaced Caruso at the 8 minute, 9 second mark of the first. Caruso scored in double figures again while playing his typically adhesive defense.

—Torrey Craig was a gametime decision with knee soreness. Not only did he play, he sank two first-quarter 3-pointers as the Bulls emphasized that shot early. Craig scored a season-high 15 points in Saturday’s victory over the Pelicans.

—The Bulls led after the first quarter just four times in their first 19 games. But they’ve now led after the first quarter in three straight games. The Bulls took 13 3-pointers in the first quarter and featured balanced scoring as the ball moved quickly around the perimeter.

—Unfortunately for the Bulls, the second quarter arrived. They scored just three points over the final 5:58 of the first half and watched their 16-point lead drop to four at halftime. They entered the break shooting just 40.9 percent with only 10 assists. They missed their final nine shots of the half, scoring only on free throws.

—For the third straight game, Julian Phillips drew first-quarter minutes. He promptly scored on a transition layup. While praising his energy and athleticism during pregame remarks, coach Billy Donovan also admitted it will be hard for the rookie to find minutes when LaVine returns.

Donovan also played seldom-used Dalen Terry for three first-half minutes. This included Terry playing before Jevon Carter, who didn’t appear until the start of the second quarter.

Phillips then re-entered in the third quarter, which the Bulls opened with a 19-4 run to right matters after their disappointing start to the first half.

—The Bulls had five players with at least six points before they placed their first scorer in double figures. DeMar DeRozan’s layup early in the third quarter pushed him to 11 points—and represented the Bulls’ first field goal in 6 minutes, 44 seconds. DeRozan finished with 29 points, including 12-for-14 from the line.

—The Hornets entered last in the NBA in defensive rating and center Mark Williams sat as a late scratch with a back contusion. Donovan talked about the Hornets’ frontcourt size and rim protection, but losing Williams impacted that. The Hornets, already without leading scorer LaMelo Ball, played several possessions of zone to try to offset their porous defense. Nikola Vucevic took advantage of Williams’ absence to post a double-double.

—Hornets rookie Brandon Miller missed his first six shots and scored just 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting. Charlotte struggled throughout, shooting 27 percent from 3-point range.

—The Bulls finished with 23 assists and 12 3-pointers.

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During a lengthy answer in which he showered praise on Ayo Dosunmu, Billy Donovan cut right to the chase.

“I think you can see a different player right now than maybe he was a year ago,” Donovan said.

Though Dosunmu’s second-year statistics—other than a lower 3-point percentage—closely mirrored those from his successful rookie season, even the Morgan Park and University of Illinois product admitted he didn’t play as consistently as he wanted to last season.

But there’s a relentlessness about Dosunmu and always has been. Project the second-round pick to the G League his rookie season and watch him earn Donovan’s trust as a rotational player even before Lonzo Ball’s injury led to him starting.

Count him out of the rotation this season after the Bulls moved quickly to sign Jevon Carter and re-sign Coby White in free agency and look what has happened when Dosunmu’s minutes have increased.

In the Bulls’ first two-game win streak of the season, Dosunmu has averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3 rebounds and shot 70.6 percent over 36 minutes. He also has helped the Bulls’ offensive attack play faster, even if it’s merely getting the ball across halfcourt into sets quicker.

“I give him a lot of credit for just his disposition,” Donovan said. “He’s ultra-competitive. He doesn’t back away from anything, owns things he needs to improve upon, takes on defensive matchups, will play any role you ask him to play.

“He’s got a great deal of confidence and belief in himself, which he should. He’s a really hard worker. Winning is a major priority for him. And I think his attitude is always like, whatever I’m getting minute-wise, I’m going to make the most of those minutes and try to do the best I can to help the team.”

Against both the Bucks and Pelicans, Dosunmu pushed the ball all the way from the backcourt to score in transition at the rim. But even if his push-the-pace mentality doesn’t lead to transition opportunities, Dosunmu is helping contribute to a two-game transformation in which the Bulls are playing with more movement offensively. They’ve posted a season-high 32 assists in both victories.

“The thing he’s doing a great job in is he’s so much more deliberate and patient in pick-and-roll and reading situations. He’s bringing the ball but last year, he’d continue being fast. Where now he’s going fast to slow back to fast. His tempo is changing. He’s reading the floor,” Donovan said. “He’s setting things up a lot better and giving himself a chance to create more penetration, which is good.”

During training camp, Dosunmu cited his desire to read defenses better and control pace as some of his major offseason work. He also wanted to shoot better this season.

And as far back as Nashville, he spoke confidently of his third season.

“That’s been my path, even back to high school. I pretty much took my jump my junior year,” he said then. “The first two years I’m pretty much learning. And my sophomore year is always the year where I pretty much hit the little roadblock. And my junior year is the year I come over. I’m excited. I put a lot of work into my game, watched a lot of film. Playing over 150 games against the top players in the league. Guarding the top players in the league, I learned so much. Me going into Year 3, I’m eager to take that next jump.”

And though he’s averaging almost 10 minutes fewer per game than his first two seasons, Dosunmu appears ready to do so. The way he’s currently playing, he’s again making it hard for Donovan to take him out of a prominent rotational role.

Especially because Dosunmu always has been able to handle hard coaching. As recently as the Bulls’ loss to the Nets, Donovan called timeout to single out Dosunmu, who at least publicly accepts such criticism without flinching.

“I’m really happy with the growth he has made. And I know as difficult as last year was for him, it may have been the best thing for his development,” Donovan said. “I don’t think many people’s growth in their career is just an upward trajectory all the time. There’s ups and downs and difficulties. He’s making really good decisions.”

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Of the many amazing aspects to the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty of the 1990s, perhaps this is most impressive: Over six championship runs, the franchise only faced two elimination games—and none in the NBA Finals.

In fact, not until the sixth and final title run did the Bulls need a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals. Their 24-8 record over six conference finals stood at 20-5 before the Bulls needed seven games to eliminate the Indiana Pacers in 1998.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that as we look to Settle the Argument of the greatest Bulls team of all-time, the semifinal matchups are fairly one-sided. It’s just part of these victorious teams’ DNA.

Let’s not bury the lead: With the help of our partners at Strat-O-Matic, simulated games with real play-by-play and box scores have been staged as we determine the greatest Bulls team of all-time.

The top-two seeds, the 1995-96 Bulls and the 1991-92 Bulls, received byes. Last week, the No. 3-seeded 1996-97 Bulls swept the No. 6-seeded 1992-93 Bulls 3-0 in one quarterfinal matchup. And the No. 5-seeded 1990-91 Bulls defeated the No. 4-seeded 1997-98 Bulls 3-1 in the other quarterfinal.

So let the semifinal matchups begin.

No. 1 seed 1995-96 Bulls vs. No. 5 seed 1990-91 Bulls

Michael Jordan had no sympathy for the first title team. Then again, Jordan never had much sympathy for anything, really.

The 1990-91 Bulls finished seventh in defensive rating, allowing 105.2 points per 100 possessions. All Jordan did in Games 1 and 2 was average almost exactly half that, scoring 54 points in the opener and 52 points in the next meeting to establish the 72-win team’s dominance.

The 1995-96 Bulls, who led the NBA in offensive, defensive and net ratings, led by as many as 30 in the opener. Scottie Pippen added 24 points and Steve Kerr contributed 16 in the 132-107 blowout.

In Game 2, Pippen added 31 points. The 1995-96 Bulls scored 67 points in the first half to lead by 27 at halftime and cruise to the 131-88 victory.

Game 3 showcased the 1995-96 team’s offensive depth as Jordan “only” scored 37 points, while Pippen added 28 and Toni Kukoc (17 points) and Ron Harper (14) also reached double figures. For the third straight game, the 1990-91 team never led and found itself on the precipice of an ignominious sweep.

But the 1990-91 team had some pride. After all, this is the team that finally broke through the Detroit Pistons to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Playing at the old Chicago Stadium, John Paxson sank two big free throws and Horace Grant added a huge hoop late to stave off elimination and the sweep. The younger Jordan scored 35.

But the 1995-96 team cruised to the 4-1 series victory with a 121-88 blowout in Game 4. Jordan scored 12 straight points down the stretch as part of his 42 points, with Pippen adding 22 points and five players in double figures.

No. 3 seed 1996-97 Bulls vs. No. 2 seed 1991-92 Bulls

Unsurprisingly, Jordan—young and old—stood at the center of the storyline to Game 1.

The older Jordan flirted with a triple double for the 1996-97 team, finishing with 39 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the 123-111 victory. The 1996-97 team used a 40-point fourth quarter to break open a close game late. The younger Jordan, hounded by Pippen, shot just 8-for-24.

In Game 2, the 1991-92 team evened the series with a 120-105 triumph. Jordan, Pippen and Grant all topped 20 points, while the older Jordan struggled this time. He shot just 6-for-26.

Back at the United Center, the 1996-97 team took a 3-1 series lead with workmanlike victories of 115-100 and 126-120. Game 4 produced the most Dennis Rodman-esque box score ever with 14 rebounds and 0 points on just one shot. Talk about the perfect addition.

And that brings us to general manager Jerry Krause, who assembled these two separate three-peat teams. The late, Hall of Fame executive kept Jordan and Pippen as the constants through the six championships and mirrored Grant with Rodman, Bill Cartwright with Luc Longley and Paxson with Kerr for the separate three-peats.

But there were other important moves. B.J. Armstrong played such an underrated role on the first three-peat teams, as did Ron Harper for the second. The Bulls don’t win Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference finals without Kukoc. And on and on and on.

Back to semifinal action, the 1991-92 Bulls staved off elimination in a 107-94 Game 5 victory. Pippen (28 points, 11 rebounds), Jordan (25 points, 12 assists) and Grant (12 points, 11 rebounds) each posted double-doubles.

But the 1995-96 team closed out the six-game series with a 113-96 victory as Jordan, as he so often did, placed an exclamation point on the proceedings. The older Jordan scored 40 points to lead five in double figures, including Kukoc, who had his best game of the series with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Check back later this week for the final pitting the 1995-96 Bulls against the 1996-97 Bulls.

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There’s a simple reason why Coby White attempted a season-high 13 3-pointers in the Chicago Bulls’ victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at the United Center.

“Uh, well, because I was getting in trouble a lot for not taking them,” White said with his typically mischievous grin. “There were a couple film sessions (coach) Billy (Donovan) kind of stopped the film and said shoot the ball when I wasn’t shooting it. Everybody from my teammates to my staff to the front office was telling me, ‘Don’t pass up any shots. Shoot it.’ We don’t care if you go 0-for-10 or 0-for-15.”

Luckily for the Bulls, White tied his career-high by making eight of his 13 attempts, scoring a season-high 31 points to go along with a season-high nine rebounds and six assists.

“He was ultra-aggressive, ultra-confident, decisive. Cob was Cob. We don’t get this win without him,” DeMar DeRozan said. “He was special.”

The night continued a torrid stretch for White, who has the longest current streak in the NBA with eight games with at least three 3-pointers made. White is now shooting a career-high 40.3 percent from 3-point range on a career-high 7.1 attempts.

And this is after an extremely slow shooting start in which his percentage hovered near 25 percent as he tried to balance starting point-guard responsibilities and an improved defensive edge.

“It wasn’t really weighing on me. They all felt pretty good when I was shooting coming off my hand. They just weren’t going in,” White said. “Working with (director of player development) Peter Patton helped me a lot. I finally started to learn my shot. Before this, everybody said I could really shoot so nobody ever taught me how to learn my shot. I kind of just shot the ball. He’s been a big help in helping me learn my shot, why I miss.”

Asked what specifically Patton helped him with, White didn’t hesitate.

“I think the main thing with me was getting back rim, squaring my body up to the rim and then holding my release and holding my follow-through in the basket. I had a tendency to either snatch my follow-through or follow-through to the right,” White said. “And a lot of those times my ball would go right and those would be the times I’d miss. Those are the things I focused on.”

White may not still be a quintessential point guard. But he’s playing the best basketball of his young career.

“He definitely wanted to be the player he’s showing he is,” DeRozan said. “I worked out with Coby a lot this summer. His drive is amazing. He always asks questions. He’s always listening. He always wants to figure out how he can be better, how he can help.”

And building on last season’s strong season that led to his three-year contract in free agency, White’s work is continuing to pay dividends.

“I knew coming into the league that I had a lot to learn and a lot of room to grow. I just tried to get better every day and do what I needed to do to stay consistent,” White said. “My main thing coming into this season was I just wanted to win and play as good as we’re capable of because I love this team and love this group of guys.”

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The Chicago Bulls won their second straight game for the first time this season, downing the New Orleans Pelicans 124-118 on Saturday night at the United Center.

“Now we gotta get back-to-back-to-back wins,” DeMar DeRozan said. “These two games should be a blueprint for us.”

Here are 10 observations:

—DeRozan returned from missing one game with a sprained left ankle. He played a smart, efficient game overall, finishing with a season-high 10 assists to go with 24 points. And in the fourth, he started to look for his shot more, scoring over Herb Jones in the midrange for a huge basket late.

“(Ankle) felt good,” DeRozan said.

—For those wondering if the ball movement that defined the Bulls’ overtime victory over the Bucks would continue with DeRozan return, the answer arrived early. The Bulls assisted on eight of their first 10 baskets and, one game after posting a season-high 32 assists, posted 32 against the Pelicans.

“We’re just being unselfish, moving the ball, pushing the pace,” DeRozan said. “We’re understanding reads, making quick reads, shooting the ball and making plays with confidence.”

–Coby White dominated the fourth quarter. White sank back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth to snap a tie. Both were of the heat-check variety. When White followed with a traditional three-point play, “Coby! Coby!” chants started at the United Center when he went to the free-throw line. He then drove and kicked to a wide-open DeRozan for a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left that pushed the Bulls’ lead to six points. White then threw a perfect alley-oop pass to Patrick Williams for the dagger dunk with 20.1 seconds remaining. White finished with a season-high 31 points, a season-high nine rebounds and six assists.

—But the Bulls’ injury news wasn’t all good. Not only did Zach LaVine miss the first of at least three more games with his sore right foot, Alex Caruso left the game with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left in the second quarter and didn’t return. Caruso re-aggravated the strained left toe that has moved him in and out of the lineup. Caruso started for LaVine and scored eight points in 12 minutes, with two rebounds and two steals. Ayo Dosunmu, who played another strong game, started the second half for Caruso.

—Saturday night marked the first set of back-to-back games the injury-prone Zion Williamson played. Entering the back-to-back set of games, Williamson had averaged 28.4 points on 64.7 percent shooting. He’s a load offensively, placing great pressure on defenses. “He’s as good as I’ve seen following up his shot when he misses it,” coach Billy Donovan said pregame. Patrick Williams started on Williamson and played textbook defense on one possession when Williamson tried to spin and drive baseline. And in general, the Bulls’ defense kept Williamson quiet until the final stages of the first half. Williamson scored seven points in less than 2 minutes after he re-entered with 2:44 left. Williamson finished with 27 points.

—For the second straight game, Donovan played rookie Julian Phillips in the first quarter. Shortly after entering, Phillips stole a Jose Alvarado pass and ran the floor in transition, dunking home a pass from Torrey Craig.

—Speaking to the urgency of the game, Donovan also altered Caruso’s first-half usage. In games Caruso starts, as he did Saturday, Caruso typically exits near the 6-minute mark of the first quarter and sits until roughly the 6-minute mark of the second. Against the Pelicans, Caruso exited at the 6:54 mark of the first quarter but returned 3 minutes later. He scored five points in the first quarter.

—White extended his streak of games with at least three 3-pointers to eight games, the longest such current streak in the NBA. Over his previous seven games, White led the NBA with 31 made 3-pointers. He tied his career high with eight on Saturday.

“It’s something I’ve looked a lot at because he wasn’t shooting the ball well early in the year,” Donovan said. “Him being at the point, it’s a lot of responsibility not only for Coby but for any point guard in this league. And he’s been a scorer. And we need him to do that.

“If you look at his outings where he has scored well, it’s really been off the ball where the ball has found him and he has been able to get catch-and-shoot opportunities and either shot fake or drive it. I’ve talked to him a lot about at times getting off the ball some. Not in terms of him needing to be off the paint. But if he starts the offense with a pass, it gets him off the ball moving a little bit and he can find those creases and cracks inside of our offense where there is ball movement and the ball sprays to him and now he’s playing against closeouts.”

—Patrick Williams scored in double figures for the sixth straight time, finishing with 14 points. Williams teamed with White and Dosunmu to kick-start a strong start to the second half, erasing a 10-point deficit by the 9:14 mark of the third. The Bulls dominated the third 36-21, taking a seven-point lead into the fourth. The quarter output surpassed two recent first-half totals of 33 points each.

—One game after scoring a season-high 29 points, Nikola Vucevic shot just 3-for-12 but hustled to make a huge save that led to White’s alley-oop to Williams.

“The ball was right there. I picked it up and saw it was a two-on-one,” White said. “I just knew as long as I threw it high enough to where (Jonas) Valanciunas couldn’t get it, I knew Pat is so athletic and bouncy and springy that he could go get it.”

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Zach LaVine’s sore right foot will sideline him for at least a week and at least the next three games. DeMar DeRozan got up some shots Friday and is questionable with his sprained left ankle for Saturday’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

With at least LaVine out for the short-term, more opportunity will be available for several players. And Ayo Dosunmu, who stuffed 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and strong defense into his first start this season on Thursday, will be one of them.

“You approach it like you approach any other day. You put the work in when the lights are off and it shows when gametime comes,” Dosunmu said following Friday’s practice at the Advocate Center. “My mindset has always been you go into each shootaround, each pregame as if I’m playing 40 minutes. Some days, you might. Some days, you might not. But if you always have that standard of preparation, when your number is called, you’ll be prepared.”

Coach Billy Donovan praised Dosunmu.

“He was great because his tempo and pace in pick-and-roll was really good. He wasn’t rushed,” Donovan said. “He read the floor. He read the defense. He made really good decisions, not only for himself but he generated shots for other guys. He got Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) a lot of opportunities.”

Dosunmu was one of multiple players who helped the Bulls play faster and record a season-high 32 assists in Thursday’s victory over the Bucks.

“That’s pretty much what we’ve been working on all season. (Thursday) was everything the coaching staff has been preaching to us in the offseason—getting downhill, getting 3s up, playing with pace, making the extra pass, defending, playing with energy,” Dosunmu said. “That’s an example of the team we can be. Now it’s about maintaining that.”

The question, now, of course is: Can the Bulls maintain that style, particularly when DeRozan and LaVine return? DeRozan, in particular, often plays at a more deliberate pace, slaying teams in the midrange.

“Zach and DeMar are great players. We’re all as one. They’re bought into everything we’re about. Now it’s about doing it collectively as a team. There’s no reason why they’re not capable of doing it. They’ve showcased it,” Dosunmu said. “If you look at the last two years, there have been a lot of games where they single-handedly won us games or kept us in games. It was us returning the favor.”

Without their two best players and two primary scorers, Thursday’s victory showcased a more democratic offensive style, where ball movement and pace prevailed. But both Dosunmu and Donovan rejected the notion that the Bulls cede to a different style when LaVine and DeRozan play.

“I think just instinctively a lot of times on every team, when the clock gets down, guys are going to put the ball in the best creator’s hands,” Donovan said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily we’re relying on DeMar in those situations. I think there’s a comfort level that DeMar manipulates the game with his mind and can read the floor and generate something for himself or for someone else.”

Added Dosunmu: “I wouldn’t say we over-rely. The pace Coach wants us to play at, we have to buy in collectively and get better at. And that’s not just DeMar and Zach. That’s everybody. DeMar and Zach want to win. They understand how we need to play and to win at a high level. I have the utmost respect for those two guys doing whatever it takes to win.”

Donovan’s point is simple: Even with DeRozan and LaVine, the Bulls have the ability to get the ball downcourt faster, set more forceful screens and get into halfcourt actions faster and more deliberately.

“Our tempo, our pace, the way we played is sustainable,” Donovan said. “We’re not going to fly down the floor. Our team isn’t built like that. But once we get across halfcourt, we’ve got to play to get the defense moved around a little built and not have to deal with so many heavy shifts and loads and length and size.”

The next test is Saturday, and it will be without at least LaVine.

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For the second time this season, Alex Caruso sank a huge 3-pointer in a Chicago Bulls victory.

He’s now shooting 47.5 percent on a career-high 3.6 attempts from beyond the arc.

So, surely, Caruso has plans to participate in the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend, right?

“Nope,” Caruso said, taking the bait on the lighthearted question. “I’ve got vacation plans.”

Caruso, who sank a huge 3-pointer late in the wild overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors in the second game of the season, beat the regulation buzzer with a game-tying 3-pointer that forced overtime. That’s where the Bulls prevailed 120-113.

“I had a lot of turnovers so I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose the game,” said Caruso, who had seven of the Bulls’ season-high 21 miscues.

Unsurprisingly, Caruso used his basketball IQ before he flashed his basketball skill.

“I cut over the top. Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) got the catch. I set the dummy flare screen for Coby (White),” Caruso said. “I heard (the Bucks coaches) tell (the Bucks players) that they were going to switch 1 through 5. So I kind of knew with the play that Coach drew up that either they were going to both come with me towards Vooch or they both were going to go away. And I tried to time it right so they messed up the switch.

“Got a little bit of space. Got a handoff from Vooch. Brook (Lopez) stepped up. I just tried to make sure I tested downhill to get a little bit of space. And I did. Shot it. Rose up. Made it.”

Caruso made it sound like his game-winning, off-balance 3-pointer on a play originally designed for White was easy. It wasn’t.

“I don’t think it’s that difficult because I shoot that a lot in the summer playing open gym and then playing in August and September when we come back with the guys,” Caruso said. “I just don’t get the opportunity to shoot a lot because usually I’m the guy taking the ball out. I was excited that I got to shoot.”

And his teammates were excited to mob him after his big shot.

“I’ve hit a couple now. And I’m exhausted. Or my foot hurts. And I’m trying to get back to the bench. And it’s like salmon swimming upstream. I’m excited and I’m hyped myself. But they keep bumping me and I’m not making any headway getting closer to the bench,” Caruso joked. “It’s always fun. Whenever we support each other and give energy like that, it just raises everybody’s level up.”

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The Chicago Bulls snapped their five-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 10 games Thursday night at the United Center. They defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 120-113 in overtime.

“It’s only one win. But it’s big for us at this moment,” Nikola Vucevic said. “The way the season has been going, we haven’t played really good basketball. And we have been losing by big margins the last couple games. It was great to do it, especially against a good team like Milwaukee.”

Here are 10 observations:

—Vucevic scored a season-high 29 points with 10 rebounds and six assists. The huge effort came after three straight games in single digits. Perhaps not coincidentally, it came without Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who both sat with injuries. Vucevic said he looked to be more aggressive with those two main scorers out.

“I just try to be a little more aggressive, whether it’s shooting or creating or trying to make the right plays for the team,” Vucevic said. “I thought the guys did a really good job of finding me on the pops or in the pocket.”

But Vucevic, and others, quickly shot down the notion that the faster pace and better ball movement that created a season-high 32 assists resulted from the loss of more isolation-based players like LaVine and DeRozan.

“That has nothing to do with it,” Vucevic said. “We came together. It’s one game. Those are our two best players. If we want to achieve anything, we need them.”

In fact, Alex Caruso said the Bulls can play this style with LaVine and DeRozan.

“We’ve shown it in spurts this year,” Caruso said. “Sometimes you have that heightened sense of urgency when you have two of your best players out. Guys step up and you have a little more focus. The thing for us is watch the film, see what we did right and continue to try to play at that level. Those two guys are great players. When they’re locked in, we’re a good team.”

The obvious question, then, is: Why hasn’t it happened more consistently with them playing?

“We’re not going to be this speed merchant team on made baskets,” coach Billy Donovan said. “But on missed shots, we have to generate more on transition opportunities.”

Donovan praised the screen-setting of Vucevic and Andre Drummond, saying they sprinted into screens that helped guards get downhill, putting the Bucks into rotation defensively.

“We knew with Zach and DeMar out, there were going to be a handful of shots and minutes to go around. We tried to just talk to each other about not trying to do it all on our own,” Caruso said. “We knew if we got them into rotations and touched the paint, we were going to have open shots. We did that. We did a good job of sharing it when we got downhill.”

—The Bulls opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points to extend a run that began in the third quarter to 14-0. The Bulls haven’t been the aggressors too often this season. But throughout this one, they played with the force and pace that Donovan has been seeking. This came from several sources, including Ayo Dosunmu, who played well in his first start with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Bulls’ reserve unit also played well, with Drummond posting 10 points and 14 rebounds in 13 minutes, Jevon Carter reaching double figures and Torrey Craig doing the same while supplying stout defense. The Bucks dropped a 10-0 run in the final 1 minute, 26 seconds before Caruso beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to force overtime.

But overall, the Bulls placed a season-high eight players in double figures, again reflective of good ball movement.

“We pushed the pace and got down the floor and were pretty aggressive, which was good,” Donovan said. “It was one of those games where everybody in their own way made major contributions to the game.”

—Giannis Antetokounmpo managed just four points before halftime, partly due to three fouls. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds, but the Bulls did a better job than in these teams’ first meeting at limiting his drives with full heads of steam. More often than not, the Bulls’ defense turned Antetokounmpo into a jump shooter.

—LaVine sat with his right foot soreness that flared up and forced him to exit Tuesday’s loss in Boston early. It’s the second game LaVine has missed with the injury. He also sat out the Oklahoma City loss.

Asked if it’s a day-to-day situation, Donovan said he didn’t know. On Tuesday, LaVine called his situation “complicated.”

“He’s dealing with the foot soreness,” Donovan said. “That’s all I have at this point.”

—DeRozan also sat with the left ankle sprain he suffered in Boston, which forced him to leave that game early. DeRozan also missed his second game, although his first was for personal reasons.

Neither LaVine nor DeRozan like missing games, but with the Bulls only having two games over the next seven days, sitting out one game could pay dividends.

—With LaVine and DeRozan out, Donovan started Coby White, Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams and Vucevic. But it’s a safe bet Donovan would’ve started Williams over Caruso anyway if LaVine and DeRozan had played. That’s what Donovan did in Boston, and Williams has played well of late.

“When he has come out in some games and maybe hasn’t been as aggressive as he needs to be, it’s been good to see him respond maybe quicker than he had in the past,” Donovan said before the game.

Williams’ momentum stalled with a 1-for-6 first half, including four straight missed 3-pointers. But he threw down an alley-oop dunk from Caruso for the first basket of the second half and later attacked to score on a drive. This is progress: If his jumpshot isn’t falling, coaches want him attacking.

—Each of LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic are shooting below their career percentages and have struggled at times defensively. The Bulls also are the NBA’s lowest-scoring, first-quarter team.

But Donovan downplayed a question on whether he’d consider not starting any of the three when they’re all healthy.

“I don’t have a problem doing whatever’s best for the team. But I would just say if those guys aren’t playing at elite level, it’s probably not the best thing for our team. So helping those guys play at elite level would be more important,” Donovan said. “I know some of our starts haven’t been great. There’s been an inconsistency. But I wouldn’t place all that on those three guys. And I wouldn’t say taking one of those guys out and putting someone else in is going to necessarily solve that. We need those guys to be who they have been throughout their career. That’s why they’re here.”

—Another game, another slow start. Donovan burned his first timeout with the Bulls trailing 11-2, at which point the Bulls had missed five of six shots and committed three turnovers. Antetokounmpo also blocked two of the misses. The Bulls responded to the timeout by playing with more pace and better ball movement, leading to open 3-point makes from Vucevic and White. By the time Bucks coach Adrian Griffin called his first timeout, the Bulls had clawed back to 16-14. And they actually led after the first quarter for just the fifth time this season, assisting on eight of nine field goals. As the league’s second-best team at taking care of the ball, they uncharacteristically committed six first-quarter turnovers or it could’ve been better. Vucevic scored 10 points in 10 minutes, his first time reaching double figures before the second quarter.

—Julian Phillips drew first-quarter minutes and played 14 minutes overall. He attacked Antetokounmpo at the rim on a driving miss and also switched onto the two-time most valuable player on multiple possessions. Phillips fouled Khris Middleton on a 3-pointer, reminding all of his rookie status. And he drew his third foul in just 9 minutes at the 7:37 mark of the second quarter, prompting Torrey Craig’s return. But the second-round pick continues to show aggressiveness. While he missed all three shots, he finished with three rebounds and three assists.

—Griffin’s ties with the Bulls run deep. He played on playoff teams under Scott Skiles and served as an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s staff.

“We won a lot of games. I built a lot of great relationships here. It’s always special coming into this building and into the city of Chicago,” Griffin said. “My kids grew up here a lot. So there’s always strong ties.”

The Bulls led the NBA in regular-season victories in 2010-11, which was the season that Derrick Rose became the youngest most valuable player winner in NBA history, and in 2011-12. But they never advanced past the Eastern Conference finals.

“DRose was special. His MVP year was just magical. Tom, Coach Thibodeau, was masterful. We had guys who played extremely hard,” Griffin said. “Joakim Noah was one of the smartest defenders that I played with and I also coached him. We had Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer. We fell short of our ultimate goal. But there was a lot of good and a lot of winning in those five years coaching with the Bulls.”

Thursday night marked the first time Griffin served as a head coach inside the United Center since he coached the World team in the Rising Stars Challenge as part of 2020 All-Star weekend. Griffin, who was Nick Nurse’s lead assistant with the NBA champion Toronto Raptors at the time, joked that Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić failed him that night.

“I was mad because he didn’t go hard,” Griffin said. “And I wanted to win.”

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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

With the In-Season Tournament knockout games set and the Chicago Bulls on the outside looking in, what better time to Settle the Argument of the greatest Bulls team of all-time?

With the help of our partners at Strat-O-Matic, simulated games with real play-by-play and box scores will play out over the coming days to crown a champion. And what delicious dynastic matchups await.

The top-two seeds, the 1995-96 Bulls and 1991-92 Bulls, received byes. The best-of-five quarterfinal matchups are the No. 3 seeded 1996-97 Bulls vs. the No. 6-seeded 1992-93 Bulls and the No. 4-seeded 1997-98 Bulls vs. the No. 5-seeded 1990-91 Bulls.

Those teams merely went a combined 249-79 during their regular seasons.

Right from the opening tip of their Game 1 quarterfinal matchup, the 1996-97 team meant business. Michael Jordan sliced inside to score 12 seconds after tipoff to open a 16-3 run on the 1992-93 Bulls to announce this could be a short series.

It’s no surprise. The 1996-97 team led the league in offensive and net rating and finished fourth in defensive rating. They stormed to their title with just four playoff losses.

Ultimately, the 1996-97 team prevailed 116-108 in the opener. Scottie Pippen scored 36 points and Jordan added 33 while Dennis Rodman grabbed 12 rebounds. Jordan and Pippen only combined for 52 points for the 1992-93 team, a testament to the 1996-97 squad’s long-armed defense featuring Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc.

That defense only intensified in the second game as the 1996-97 team prevailed 95-87 over the 1992-93 team. Pippen sank a 3-pointer with 6 minutes, 16 seconds left to break a tie and open a game-changing 9-2 run. Pippen again led the 1996-97 team with 30 points, while Jordan added 25 and Rodman snagged 16 rebounds.

During the regular season, Pippen played his jack-of-all-trades game. He averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.5 blocks. He also played all 82 games and averaged close to 38 minutes a game. He was relentless.

The 1996-97 closed out the quarterfinal sweep with a 120-112 victory in Game 3. Jordan reminded all who the GOAT is with 46 points,. That included a 3-pointer with 4:41 left that, along with a Ron Harper fast-break basket on the next possession, helped the 1996-97 team pull away after B.J. Armstrong had scored to cap a 7-0 run that pulled the 1992-93 team within 107-104 with 5:01 left.

Jordan had incorporated the 3-point shot into his game more frequently that season. He shot 37.4 percent on a career-high 3.6 attempts.

In the second quarterfinal matchup, the 1990-91 team prevailed 113-100 over the 1997-98 team in the opener. The younger Jordan’s 37 points led four in double figures, including 20 from Pippen, 14 from Armstrong and 12 from John Paxson.

But the fourth-seeded 1997-98 Bulls evened the series with a 102-100 victory in Game 2. Jordan scored 30, including free throws with 4 seconds remaining for a four-point lead. That followed a Rodman layup with 47 seconds to play to give the 1997-98 team the lead for good. The younger Pippen got whistled for a crucial offensive foul after Rodman’s hoop.

Game 3 featured the younger Pippen in the spotlight. During the regular season, Pippen posted three triple-doubles. And he flirted with one in the 1990-91 team’s 109-96 victory, finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The 1990-91 team then closed out the series with a 107-88 victory in Game 4. A 23-6 run early in the fourth erased an 11-point deficit and pushed the lower seed to the semifinals. Jordan scored 31 points, Pippen added 24 and Craig Hodges shot 2-for-3 on 3-pointers as part of his 10 points.

These results set up semifinal matchups of the No. 1-seeded 1995-96 Bulls vs. the No. 5-seeded 1990-91 Bulls and the No. 3-seeded 1996-97 Bulls vs. the No. 2-seeded 1991-92 Bulls.

Check back next week as we Settle the Argument on the greatest Bulls team of all-time.

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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

BOSTON — The Chicago Bulls lost for the fifth straight time and for the eighth time in nine games when the Boston Celtics prevailed 124-97 on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

“This team has had enough conversations,” Zach LaVine said. “We gotta get results.”

Here are 10 observations from the defeat:

—Zach LaVine endured a forgettable night. He missed his first six shots and didn’t score until 17.7 seconds remained in the first half. The Celtics even won a challenge at the 5 minute, 33 second mark of the second quarter when officials overturned a foul call on Jaylen Brown on a driving LaVine. LaVine did have four assists at halftime but then exited the game for good at the 5:32 mark of the third with right foot soreness. LaVine sat out the Oklahoma City loss that started this trip with the same injury. LaVine finished 1-for-9 for two points. Obviously, the Bulls need him to starting finding his shooting form. He entered shooting 45.3 percent overall and 34.4 percent from 3-point range, both below his career percentages.

“It’s sore,” LaVine said of his foot. “I felt it a little bit and it progressively got worse. So it didn’t make sense to continue to risk it.”

LaVine said he’s day-to-day moving forward. The Bulls next play Thursday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.

—The injury news didn’t stop there. DeMar DeRozan crashed hard to the ground during the third quarter after getting fouled and winced throughout several possessions afterward. He ultimately checked out at the 6:02 mark of the third and didn’t return with a sore left ankle. DeRozan finished with 19 points and six assists.

—Alex Caruso returned after missing one game with a strained left toe. But coach Billy Donovan still started Patrick Williams. The move had several layers to it. For starters, Williams played well in Toronto and Brooklyn and any momentum is good momentum for a player so critical to the franchise’s future. It also allowed Williams to match up with Jayson Tatum initially, placing more size on the Celtics’ 6-foot-8-inch superstar. And it placed Caruso back in a situation where the team can more readily control his minutes. Caruso almost always ends up in closing lineups but only plays one speed.

Donovan said he brought Caruso off the bench because the reserves have struggled some of late and also because he hasn’t loved having to keep Caruso on the bench for a 12-minute stint from the 6-minute mark of the first quarter to the 6-minute mark of the second quarter when he starts. That’s because the Bulls try to control Caruso’s minutes.

“It felt pretty good,” Caruso said. “There were just a couple movements that aggravates it a little bit.”

—The Celtics needed to beat the Bulls by at least 23 points and get some help to win Group C for the In-Season Tournament. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White both were listed as questionable but started, an indication of how focused the Celtics were on winning. DeMar DeRozan took exception to Pascal Siakam taking a late shot in the Bulls’ loss to the Raptors. But point differential, and perhaps some breaches of sportsmanship, will be the new norm with the In-Season Tournament. In fact, Donovan fielded a question about it pregame. And then Donovan had two in-game discussions with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla when Mazzulla instructed his players to intentionally foul Andre Drummond in the fourth quarter with the Celtics leading by 30 points.

“Andre is a veteran guy. And I told (Mazzulla): ‘What are we doing here?'” Donovan said. “I get it on keeping your guys in, wanting to get in (the quarterfinals). The league has made it a big deal. But for me, it was just the fouling. And Joe was great when I talked to him.”

In fact, Mazzulla not only apologized to Donovan during the game and again in a postgame hallway but also asked to be allowed to apologize to Drummond.

“They’re trying to get to Vegas. It’s just a tough situation. He has to coach his team and do what he feels is right,” Donovan said. “Play (the starters) all the way to the end. I got no problem with that. But I just thought it was putting Andre in a tough spot in a 30-point game. I didn’t like that.

“This is what the league has done with the point differential. And I feel bad for them from this standpoint: God forbid in a game like that (someone gets hurt). When you’re up 30 and there’s 5 minutes to go in the game and you have all your main guys in there and potentially someone gets hurt over the In-Season Tournament because of points? Man. But I understand the league has made a big deal of it. Everybody is trying to take it serious.”

—The Bulls, by the way, finished 0-4 in tournament play.

“You go out there and play, man,” LaVine said, when asked if he thinks this season is salvageable. “You got a lot of season left. You don’t play the scoreboard. You look at the standings, obviously. But you try to win every game you step into and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

—After starting quickly in Brooklyn and leading by 21 points, the Bulls reverted to their first-quarter woes. They trailed by double digits for the fifth time in 19 games and only scored 20 points.

—The Bulls allowed 69 first-half points and 65 percent shooting before halftime. Both represented opponent season-highs. The Bulls entered the game ranked 21^st in defensive rating and the issues are widespread. From poor communication to poor rotations to fouling too much, the Bulls are allowing way too many open shots.

“As a professional player, there should be effort out there. And we’ll deal with those (film) clips,” Donovan said. “There was definitely some of them I saw and those were addressed in timeouts—about the effort we were giving on some of (the closeouts).”

—The Celtics led by as many as 35 points, marking the Bulls’ biggest deficit of the season.

Asked how the Bulls can stay connected through this trying time, Caruso grew animated.

“This is our job, man,” Caruso said. “You show up and do your job. Whether you wear Bulls or Celtics across your chest, there’s a pride that comes with playing in the NBA.”

—After allowing a franchise-record 25 3-pointers on Sunday in Brooklyn, the Bulls allowed 21 3-pointers. Several of the Celtics’ looks were wide open. The communication and rotations are non-existent for a defense that last season finished in the top-five.

“There are two things that are mandatory in the NBA if you want to win games—effort and execution,” Caruso said. “If you miss half that, you’re behind the 8-ball and probably not going to put yourself in a good chance to win. It’s something that’s frustrating. We can only watch it and get back and go at the next one and try to lead by example and lead vocally and pull guys along with you.”

—Earlier Tuesday, executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas expressed his disappointment with the team’s start in brief remarks to the beat writers here.

Asked how much ownership he takes for the Bulls’ struggles, Donovan didn’t run from responsibility.

“I take ownership in this too in terms of what I have to do. I’m not obviously the decisions that Arturas is making or Jerry and Michael (Reinsdorf) are making,” Donovan said. “And I’m not making the decisions on the court that the players are making. But where can I get better and improve and where can I help?

“I’m a big believer that you are what your record says you are. I’m not going to sit here say, ‘Well, a couple tough losses and we could be .500.’ No. This is what we are. What are the issues we have to address? As best as I can, I try to hit those head on and talk about those things and show them on film and maybe go about things in different ways.

“I take responsibility of where we’re at too. I look at myself first in terms of things I can do better to help our group. That’s my main focus. Certainly in conversations with players and our staff and Arturas, we’re all trying to put our heads together to try to figure out how we can help one another. And I think players have been great in terms of open communications in talking about things we have to do better.”

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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

Part of the beauty and mystery of sports is the unsolvable, the endless GOAT debates and back-in-the-day stories and never-ending theories on why this team or that player is better than the previous or the next.

But what if you could use data to simulate the spectacular? Think prime Michael Jordan guarding back-to-the-basket Michael Jordan; or Horace Grant trying to keep Dennis Rodman off the offensive boards; or John Paxson coming off a screen for a big shot late versus Steve Kerr doing the same.

That’s right. We’re talking dynasty-era Chicago Bulls. And thanks to our partners at Strat-O-Matic, we not only have the ability to Settle the Argument of the greatest Bulls team of all-time, but we also have simulated box scores with real play-by-play to prove it.

Or at least prove it in one controlled realm.

Of course, there’s also the more subjective aspect of the eye test. And 27 years on, these eyes maintain that the 1995-96 Bulls are the greatest NBA team of all-time.

The memories endure.

The swagger with which they entered each game, knowing the opponent viewed it as the biggest regular-season game of the season. The quiet, burning fuel stemming from Jordan’s return from baseball the previous season that ended in rare playoff failure.

The poise and trust coach Phil Jackson would display as he chose not to call timeouts in moments of early-game duress, content to let players figure it out. Jordan sitting at the end of the L-shaped bench, mere inches from the first row of media sitting, the ice packs on his knees serving as the modern-day equivalent of Red Auerbach’s victory cigar.

But don’t take our word for it. Over the coming days, prepare for the simulated tournament to play out to Settle The Argument.

The format is simple: With six title teams from which to choose, the top-two seeds—the 1995-96 and 1991-92 Bulls—receive first-round byes. The quarterfinals will be comprised of seeds No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 in two five-game series.

Those winners advance to semifinal matchups against the top-two seeds, with the 4-5 winner facing the top seed and the 3-6 winner facing the second seed. Those series will be best-of-seven, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, if necessary.

Then, the finals will be a seven-game series between the two semifinal winners with the same home-and-away games format.

The remaining seeds for the Bulls are as follows: 1996-97 is the No. 3 seed; 1997-98 is the No. 4 seed; 1990-91 is the No. 5 seed; 1992-93 is the No. 6 seed.

Let the “games” begin. And let’s Settle the Argument.

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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

NEW YORK — The Chicago Bulls lost their fourth straight and seventh in eight games when the Brooklyn Nets stormed back to prevail 118-109 Sunday night at Barclays Center.

“It is tough when you’re 5-13. It’s not what we expected. But it’s the reality of it and we have to face it,” Nikola Vucevic said. “The only way out of it is we stick together and try to find a way to turn it around. It’s not going to be easy. Our schedule doesn’t get any easier either ahead of us. But we just have to find a way. We put ourselves in this position and we’re the only ones who can get us out of it.”

Here are 10 observations from the loss:

—The Bulls won the first quarter for just the fifth time in 18 games. They also overcame their recent habit of falling behind by double digits in the first quarter. In fact, they opened with a 7-0 run to force a timeout from Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. They extended the run to 13-0, 22-3 and 30-9 as their largest lead of the first. That included 8-of-10 start from 3-point range.

“It felt great,” Zach LaVine said.

—Here was coach Billy Donovan pregame about the slow starts.

“We’re coming into games sometimes seeing how the game is going. And I don’t think that’s a good thing,” he said. “We have to come out with more force than we have.

“Vooch and DeMar (DeRozan) aren’t going to be these speed merchants up and down the floor. But there can be more force to us. It’s not so much that we have to play this racehorse basketball. But there has to be more force and physicality at the basket. There has to be more physicality at the point of screen. There has to be more physicality running offense instead of, ‘OK.’ We have to go with force. When we get down, that’s when we come back and play with a level of force.”

—Alex Caruso missed his third game of the season with the strained left toe he re-aggravated on Friday night in Toronto when Coby White inadvertently stepped on Caruso’s foot. Caruso warmed up trying to play but Patrick Williams drew the start in Caruso’s absence.

—Williams helped the Bulls’ impressive start by scoring 11 points in the first quarter without missing a shot. That included three 3-pointers. Williams stepped into each shot with confidence and without hesitation. In general, the Bulls did a good job of getting the ball inside either by pass or penetration and then kicking out to open shooters. Williams finished with 20 points.

—But the Bulls’ poor quarter came later this time. The Nets opened the second quarter on an 11-1 that featured Donovan burning two timeouts in 10 seconds. After the second, Donovan chastised Ayo Dosunmu, who had committed a turnover, as the guard walked to the bench.

“We made everything. They missed everything. We knew it was going to balance out,” Vucevic said. “We just didn’t react well when that happened.”

—The Nets erased all of their 21-point, first-quarter deficit by opening the second quarter with a 27-5 spurt. And they were finishing a back-to-back set of games, although they also played at home in a Saturday night victory over the Miami Heat. Still, the Bulls fell into poor habits by not getting back in transition and not rotating to open 3-point shooters. Overall, the Nets outscored the Bulls 44-19 in the second. It marked only the second time since 1996-97 that an NBA team led by 20 or more in the first quarter and trailed by 10 or more by the second quarter.

“They went into that zone,” LaVine said. “They were hitting shots. When we were taking the ball out of the net, it slowed the game down.”

—With a second-quarter 3-pointer, Coby White became the first player in franchise history to make four or more 3-pointers in five straight games. White has been on fire from beyond the arc of late, raising his season average to 37 percent entering the game after languishing at 25 percent early in the season. White had sank 19-of-37 3-pointers over his last four games and finished 5-for-12 on Sunday.

—The Nets surpassed the Bulls’ opponent-season-high for 3-pointers with their 21^st—at the 2 minute, 56 second mark of the third. The Nets entered seventh in the league in 3-point attempts and fourth in made 3-pointers. It’s a big part of their offensive identity. The jarring aspect was how open many of the Nets’ attempts were following Bulls’ defensive breakdowns.

“We got hurt on the communication piece on a lot of their slip-outs,’’ Donovan said of the changing of momentum in that first half. “There were clearly a bunch of threes that rotation-wise they were left wide open and they knocked them down.’’

Zach LaVine left Mikal Bridges wide open when he rotated to provide help that Torrey Craig didn’t need. Nikola Vucevic left Spencer Dinwiddie wide open. LaVine and Dosunmu failed to communicate and rotate properly.

“A lot of it is communication. We don’t do a good enough job communicating to each other or honoring the call when somebody calls (coverage),” Vucevic said. “Even if it’s wrong, we have to honor the person who feels that that’s the right call. We have to do a better job of being on the same page.”

LaVine said sometimes the overhelping comes from a good place because players are trying to support each other.

“We go to the bench and we talk all the time,” LaVine said. “We talk it out. Look at things on film.”

—In fact, the Nets sank the most 3-pointers allowed by the Bulls in franchise history. The Nets finished 25-for-53 from 3-point range. Royce O’Neal and Lonnie Walker IV each sank six. Vaughn utilized a small lineup for most of the game and the four-guard lineups often put the Bulls in scramble mode with their drive-and-kick and passing on the perimeter.

—The Bulls shot 4-for-22 from 3-point range after their hot start from beyond the arc of 8-for-10. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 27 points. White finished with 23 points and five 3-pointers.

“Guys are professional here. We have high spirits. Obviously everybody is frustrated because we’re losing. But we support each other. We’re in the gym working every day, encouraging one another, trying to keep spirits high. You just have to get through it,” LaVine said. “Nobody is going to help us do it. We understand that.

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NEW YORK — Officially, Julian Phillips’ name landed eight times in the play-by-play from the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Toronto Raptors Friday night.

Not bad for a 4 minute, 27 second rotational turn from a second-round pick.

“I definitely want to make every minute count when I’m out there,” Phillips said following Saturday’s practice at the Brooklyn Nets practice facility.

Phillips wasn’t perfect with his decision-making as he finished with two points and one foul, missing both free-throw attempts and an open 3-pointer. But that’s not fully the point.

Though coach Billy Donovan pointed out that Phillips bypassed two open 3-pointers on the same possession where he attacked the rim and scored on a drive, the Bulls’ coach also pointed out how Phillips played with poise and confidence and decisiveness.

In short, Phillips is showing flashes of being more than a guy with a 43-inch vertical jump.

“It was fun for me to get out there with the guys. Those are big games for me early in my career,” Phillips said. “It’s definitely still a moment for me when I go in. But I wouldn’t so much say I’m nervous. It’s more of an excitement. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”

Of course, the big picture question is whether it’s a good thing Donovan is utilizing a second-round pick to try to change the energy of a game. It’s the second time this month Donovan has played Phillips unexpectedly in a short rotational turn.

“The way the game was going, I was trying to inject a different kind of lineup with some energy and size. He and Patrick (Williams) and Torrey (Craig) were out there and I thought we could switch a little more, get some steals and transition points,” Donovan said. “I was just trying to change the flow of the game a little bit.”

Such is life for a 5-12 team.

Zooming out past the disappointing start to this season, which, if the Bulls were rolling, would feature Phillips playing almost exclusively for the Windy City Bulls, the 20-year-old wing has flashed some potential. Donovan specifically pointed to Phillips’ innate ability to read when to cut in halfcourt settings.

“I’m pretty excited about him. I think he has really good potential and upside,” Donovan said. “I know he’s young. He has a good feel of how to play.

“The thing I’ve been impressed by with him is the growth that I’ve seen from when he first came in to start summer league practice to how he progressed in Vegas to the rest of summer and into training camp. You could see a guy getting better. He’s very smart. He pays attention.”

And has countless teammates, not to mention coaches, in his ear trying to help.

“Billy told me about passing up those open 3-pointers. A couple teammates told me about it right away too. I definitely have to look for that when I catch it initially. Even though I did score, the shot I passed up was wide open,” Phillips said. “The one I missed was a good shot. I know what shots are good—when to shoot them, when not to.

“Playing in the NBA has been a lot. You don’t know what it’s like until you’re finally in it. You could watch as many NBA games as you want as a kid. But until you experience everything first-hand, it’s like no other for sure. I’m blessed to be here.”

Phillips said his main current focus is to get stronger physically, work on his floor spacing offensively and be consistent with defensive versatility. Putting up some monster numbers in his G League appearances has helped.

“It’s been good to get heavy minutes. You get to showcase a lot down there,” he said. “I definitely think it’s helped me a lot in my growth and transition to the league.”

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TORONTO — On a night he agreed is perhaps his low point of his Chicago Bulls tenure, DeMar DeRozan drew his second technical foul and an ejection with 1 second left in Friday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.

DeRozan took exception to Pascal Siakam attempting a 3-point shot with 3 seconds left and the Raptors leading by 12 points when Siakam could’ve dribbled out the clock. DeRozan angrily chastised the Raptors bench and coach Darko Rajakovic, who told coach Billy Donovan that Siakam attempted the shot because point differential matters for In-Season Tournament ramifications.

The Raptors actually had been eliminated from In-Season Tournament advancement before the game, but apparently, word didn’t get to Rajakovic and Siakam. There’s an unwritten code in the NBA that teams leading late in games either take a shot-clock violation or dribble out the clock if the possession begins with fewer than 24 seconds, as the Raptors’ possession did.

“I don’t care about no In-Season Tournament points, none of that. Just respect for the game,” DeRozan said. “If the roles was flip-flopped and I had the ball, hold it. It is what it is.”

Asked if he could share what he said to the Raptors bench, DeRozan said no. Asked if there’s a clean version of what he said, DeRozan said no again.

“I mean, I knew that (they were eliminated),” DeRozan said. “But I didn’t care about that either. Just everybody was yelling at him, ‘Score, score, score.’ Take the win. Get out of here. Like I said, if roles were reversed, needing In-Season Tournament points or not, just for the respect I have for my opponents, I hold the ball. Especially if there’s no shot clock. That’s just me.”

On his way off the court, DeRozan shared a hug with his former boss in Masai Ujiri, who watches games from the tunnel, and also tore off his jersey. It was the second thing DeRozan tore in frustration on Friday, ripping a towel during a timeout on the bench.

“I can’t fake it. I’m beyond frustrated. And I think it’s rightfully so as a competitor,” DeRozan said. “Everybody in this locker room is frustrated. It’s from a good place of being a competitor and wanting to figure it out that badly. Put a couple wins together. I really truly believe that can shift everything for us.”

The Bulls once again endured a slow start. They have led after just three of 17 first quarters and trailed by double digits in the first quarter for the fourth time already this season.

“We gotta challenge ourself. We can’t have those spiritual talks. We gotta challenge each other to leave it all the way out there,” DeRozan said. “That’s a good thing to be challenged. Ask something of yourself more than you ever have at this point, myself included. That’s where we’re at.”

Indeed, the Bulls are 5-12 and in danger of a lost season already. They have lost three straight and six of seven. A season that began with such high hopes internally is already almost on life support.

“The true standard of a person is who they become when adversity hits. We gotta stay positive, find some type of positivity. But it is frustrating losing and we have opportunities and it’s self-inflicted. It’s beyond frustrating,” DeRozan said. “Sleep on it. It’s going to be a long night. Got a day (Saturday) to dwell on it again. It’s all about how you respond.

“There’s enough here. It’s just about finding that right combination for it to hit on all cylinders consistently. It just seems like we’re kind of all over the place. We’ve showed spurts. We gotta figure it out. It sucks. It’s frustrating. We all hate losing. We hate being in the position we’re in, digging ourselves a hole. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We have to figure it out.

“We can do it. That’s why I’m so frustrated. It’s not like we’re playing against the ’96 Bulls every single night. We can compete with and beat anybody. It’s just a matter of from the tip ball to end, playing the right way, putting the IQ in the game, understanding what we need to do and how hard we need to do it. We gotta figure it out.”

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TORONTO — Alex Caruso didn’t play the final 19 minutes, 35 seconds of Friday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors after Coby White accidentally stepped on Caruso’s foot.

Naturally, Caruso still tried to hobble over and take a charge from center Jakob Poeltl before walking gingerly off the court when Torrey Craig substituted for him.

“I just decided not to put him back in the game. I don’t know if he could’ve gone back in the game. It was definitely my decision. I know he was hurting enough. He said he didn’t feel great,” coach Billy Donovan said. “When he said he didn’t feel great, I didn’t ask him if he could go back in.”

The Bulls whittled a 20-point deficit down to seven in the fourth quarter. Caruso typically plays in the Bulls’ closing lineup.

“It was pretty painful. It was probably the right decision,” Caruso said. “There was probably only more negative that could’ve happened than positive throwing me back out there with the athletes and the pace of the game and the physicality of it.”

Caruso recently sat out two games with a sprained left toe. White stepped on the same foot. Caruso said he already started treatment late Friday and planned to continue it Saturday. The Bulls next play Sunday in New York against the Brooklyn Nets.

Even with Caruso playing, the Bulls allowed 62 first-half points. That included the Raptors shooting 17-for-17 at the rim, according to Donovan.

The slow starts have been a problem area for the Bulls all season.

“A lot of times we wait and try to match the energy of the other team or see what the game is going to be rather than setting the tone ourselves,” Caruso said. “We gotta change something whether it’s players playing a different style or different rotations. Players have to play better.”

The Bulls hope Caruso is one of those players trying to play better on Sunday.

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TORONTO — Patrick Williams slipped back into the starting lineup Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

But whenever Zach LaVine returns from his foot soreness, whether that’s Friday against the Raptors or Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets, Williams likely will return to his reserve role.

Now is an intriguing time to analyze Williams’ demotion because he has played 187 minutes in his nine reserve appearances and 181 minutes in his seven starts.

As a starter, Williams is averaging 5.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 25.8 minutes while shooting just 28.3 percent, including 17.4 percent from 3-point range.

As a reserve, Williams is averaging 6.4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 20.8 minutes while shooting 37 percent, including 37.5 percent from 3-point range.

So Williams’ scoring is up in fewer minutes, although that’s also a reflection of his better shooting splits. Asked following Friday’s morning shootaround at Scotiabank Arena if he feels he has more opportunity with the second unit, Williams didn’t hesitate.

“100 percent. That’s just the natural way of basketball and the way this team is,” he said. “You have three All-Stars. They need the ball. We need them to have the ball in order for us to win. I think that limits the opportunities for anybody else in that first unit.”

And Williams insists the demotion hasn’t impacted him mentally.

“Confidence is not a problem for me,” he said. “I know who I am. I know what I can do. I know what I bring to the table. I’m 100 percent confident in what I can do at both ends.

“I’m trying to rebound more. Defensively, I always give 110 percent effort. I’m trying to be more aggressive in transition, shoot more in catch-and-shoots.”

The flip side to this discussion is that Williams reclaiming his starting spot would be most beneficial for the long-term health of the franchise. Management said as much this offseason when both general manager Marc Eversley and executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas emphasized how important this season would be for Williams.

“This year is the year where he really needs to step it up and figure it out,” Eversley said in August.

Williams said he didn’t know about those public comments because he doesn’t read stuff and because it’s not like he hasn’t heard similar comments in private conversations with the front office that selected him fourth overall in 2020.

“It’s for sure a good thing. I’ve talked to them about it. This is my fourth year in the NBA, third year playing. It’s that time. I know I can. I know I will. It’s a matter of turning what’s said and what’s felt into what’s actually happening on the court,” he said. “That’s the bridge we’re trying to build now.”

Does Williams envision that happening with the Bulls? After all, it took a change of scenery for players like Lauri Markkanen and, to a lesser extent, Wendell Carter Jr. to fully flourish.

“I don’t see a reason why not,” Williams said. “Obviously, we’re struggling as a team and trying to find some wins. And my role has fluctuated. But there’s always a solution.

“We’ve tried different lineups. We’ve tried different offensive plays. We’ve tried different defensive schemes. We’re trying to find our groove. It’s a long season. The teams that win find that consistency. That’s what we’re searching for. For me, winning is the ultimate thing.”

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The Chicago Bulls dropped to 5-11 following Wednesday night’s 116-102 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here are 10 observations from the defeat:

—The losses began before tipoff when Zach LaVine sat with right foot soreness. LaVine landed on the injury report for the first time Tuesday night, but the team listed him as probable. Given that LaVine typically plays through injuries, he warmed up with the expectation to play. But LaVine still missed his first game of the season.

“As he continued through his workout, it started to bother him,” Donovan told reporters in Oklahoma City following the game. “He was trying to work his way through it.”

—Coach Billy Donovan slipped Patrick Williams back into the starting lineup in LaVine’s absence. With DeMar DeRozan missing one game for personal reasons, LaVine sitting with injury for the first time and Donovan trying Williams, Torrey Craig and Alex Caruso as starting power forwards, it marked the fifth different lineup in Game No. 16.

—The new look couldn’t prevent an old look—a slow start offensively. The Bulls missed their first six shots and took 2 minutes, 9 seconds to score on a Nikola Vucevic putback. The Bulls, who are the NBA’s lowest-scoring, first-quarter team with an average of 24.7 points, managed just 14 points on 4-for-23 shooting in the opening period. That included 2-for-11 and two airballs from 3-point range. Fittingly, the Bulls’ lone first-quarter turnover came on a shotclock violation.

—The Bulls failed to crack 40 first-half points for the fourth time in the last five games. DeRozan missed his first seven shots. The Bulls somehow shot only 4-for-22 on 2-pointers in the first half. That’s 18.2 percent. That’s hard to do. If not for Coby White’s six first-half 3-pointers, it would’ve been even uglier.

—White followed his first 20-point game of the season with 23 points, including 7-for-12 from 3-point range. White has had plenty on his plate in his role as starting point guard, including more defensive responsibility. He struggled to shoot in the early stages of the season, but him heating up from beyond the arc could be an offensive boon.

—Caruso lengthened his longest stretch of consecutive double-figure scoring games to seven with 12 points. Caruso has talked about the work he put in this offseason to work on his 3-point shot. But he’s also been much better at not passing up shots and stepping into shots with confidence.

—Unfortunately at the defensive end, Caruso, nor anybody else, had an answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The superstar slithered his way to 40 points and 12 assists, often just simply solving solid defense. He’s that good. He also shot 17-for-18 from the free-throw line as the Bulls put the Thunder there 38 times. It’s hard to win with such a free-throw disparity. The Thunder shot 31-for-38, while the Bulls didn’t miss but only got to the line 17 times.

—The Bulls, who trailed by as many as 18, did their usual comeback rush and tied the game twice in the third quarter. But they faded down the stretch of another winnable game and committed a costly 24-second shotclock violation with 3:39 left following Nikola Vucevic’s offensive rebound of a Patrick Williams miss. Gilgeous-Alexander followed with a hoop for a seven-point Thunder lead.

—DeRozan overcame his slow start to finish with 25 points, including 13-for-13 from the free-throw line. In the process, DeRozan became the 36^th player in NBA history to score 22,000 or more points. He also shot 6-for-10 after his 0-for-7 start.

—After the loss, Donovan told reporters in Oklahoma City: “Our guys are really trying. It’s hard to overcome 4-for-23. But they’re fighting and trying and competing. They’re down a scorer in Zach. But I give them credit for staying in and battling their way back in the game.”

Defensively, Donovan said he wants the Bulls to improve their communication in defensive transition and to show hands without fouling. He also said, while acknowledging Gilgeous-Alexander’s starpower, that the rotations were a bit slow.

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Billy Donovan isn’t the only member of the Chicago Bulls with a strong connection to Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.

Donovan, who worked with Daigneault at Florida in college and with the Thunder, unleashes Alex Caruso to spearhead the Bulls’ defense.

Defensive principles that Caruso credits Daigneault for helping him hone during the 2016-17 season they shared working for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League.

“We drilled every day—stick hand, closeouts, shell defense, the most basic boring defensive drills,” Caruso said. “I took them seriously. That’s just the person I am. I’m going to put 100 percent into whatever it is that we’re doing.

“It was just the repetitions of getting it right and being able to carry that over to NBA games. It was habit at that point. It wasn’t something that I had to think about. A lot of that, I give credit to Mark for setting up the practices like that, coaching it and teaching us to be present.”

Caruso has risen to earn first-team All-Defense honors for the first time last season. Daigneault, who replaced Donovan and is in his fourth season with the Thunder, is the third-youngest head coach in the NBA and widely regarded for his sharp mind.

None of this surprises Caruso.

“He coaches and talks exactly the same as he did with the Blue,” Caruso said. “He was always keeping us in really good perspective of how to play and how we were going to be successful. I really enjoyed playing for him.”

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The Bulls lost their first two games of the tournament against the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic, and currently sit at the bottom of the standings in Group C in the Eastern Conference. They are one of four teams in the Eastern Conference that has not yet won a tournament game.

They still have two games remaining, against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, but those games could take place after an elimination if a trio of results occur, according to the NBA.

According to NBA PR, the Bulls and Raptors would both be eliminated from the tournament if these results occur Tuesday:

-The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.

-The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks.

-The Magic beat the Raptors.

In addition, the Pacers would clinch a spot in the knockout round if they defeat the Hawks, according to the league.  

The Bulls’ final two tournament games will take place on Friday when they travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors, and then on Tuesday when they face the Celtics in Boston.

Under rules of the In-Season Tournament, eight teams advance to the knockout round. The winner of each of the six groups advances, as does the best second place team in each conference.

Knockout round games would take place Dec. 4 and 5, with the semifinals and final taking place Dec. 5 and 7 in Las Vegas.

All games count toward teams’ 82-game schedules, and all games but the championship game will be counted in the league’s standings.

In the event of ties in the standings, a series of tiebreakers will be used, starting with head-to-head record in the tournament. Point differential then comes into play, followed by total points scored.

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Head coach Billy Donovan said the Chicago Bulls have addressed the postgame situation from Saturday night in which Zach LaVine declined a postgame interview that’s broadcast throughout the United Center.

Multiple reports, including NBC Sports Chicago, said important figures in the organization weren’t thrilled with LaVine’s actions, which included him ignoring a public relations employee and walking straight to the locker room.

“It’s been handled internally,” Donovan said.

LaVine also has apologized to and talked at length with the public relations employee, with whom he has a strong, professional relationship.

Donovan detailed his preferred organizational philosophy.

“Me being here for the time that I’ve been here, I really think we have good quality people,” Donovan said. “That goes from players to medical to PR people. They’re really great people to work with. My thing is I want everybody to treat everybody with class and respect and help each other do their job. We all have jobs to do. And they’re difficult and demanding and there are emotions in that.

“My wish would be that everybody helps each other in doing their job to the best of their ability.”

LaVine is extremely accommodating to the media and has represented the franchise professionally for seven seasons.

“Yes, absolutely,” Donovan said, when asked a follow-up question about LaVine’s large body of work of professionalism.

Donovan said he didn’t see the incident in real time but heard about it later.

Every move LaVine makes is drawing greater scrutiny placed against the backdrop of him and the Bulls both being open to finding a new home for him. Teammates and coaches have answered questions about LaVine’s commitment.

Donovan said he sees nothing different in LaVine’s approach and desire to win.

“My conversations with him have been more about the basketball piece of how as a staff and myself can help him, what he’s seeing out there, how he can impact the slow starts,” Donovan said. “I did not see anything different from him in that locker room when I walked in. I didn’t get a guy who wasn’t in the locker room or in a different room or upset or pouting or turned around. I talked to him after the game. He talked to players after the game. I saw a normal Zach in there.”

In fact, Donovan said LaVine’s play from that night, in which he consistently gave up the ball when double-teamed, speaks to him trying to play the game the right way.

“If you look at his play—and that’s what I’ve focused on, the coaching piece—he’s generating a lot of assists for guys in terms of closeout opportunities. I’d like to see him be more aggressive in first halves like he is in these second halves. I think that would help our team. I think he’s trying to help on defense.

“If I’m being critical of him, being aggressive in that first half, he made a lot of really good plays in that game late. I see a guy on the floor that’s trying to win.”

Donovan said LaVine even told him he could play all 24 second-half minutes during a recent loss to Orlando if the coach wanted because he knew how important winning is.

“That’s the kind of dialogue he’s giving me,” Donovan said.

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Internally, nobody from the Chicago Bulls expected to be 5-10 after 15 games.

But that’s their current reality after they concluded an extremely favorable schedule stretch with just a 3-5 mark. The Bulls had seven of eight home games and the only road game was a bus ride to Milwaukee.

After posting the NBA’s fourth-best defense over the previous seven games, the Bulls had recognition problems all night in a 118-100 loss to the Miami Heat. The Heat shot 50 percent overall, including 48.6 percent from 3-point range.

With a tough, four-game trip beginning Wednesday in Oklahoma City, the Bulls are in danger of their season slipping away. Particularly since Zach LaVine and the organization both are open to finding their two-time All-Star guard a new home.

But coach Billy Donovan said his daily conversations with management remain focused on the current personnel.

“I think everything is really totally geared toward how we can help this group play better,” Donovan said. “Certainly we’ve talked about the starts we’ve gotten off to early in games. We’ve looked at some different starting lineups, played some different rotations, tried some different things to try to get back to a level of consistency.

“We’ve shown some signs of really good possessions on offense and really good possessions on defense. But it’s the consistency part we have to keep working at.”

Donovan has started Patrick Williams, Torrey Craig and now Alex Caruso at power forward. He said the current look with Caruso will remain at least for the short-term.

In the past, management has resisted undertaking a full rebuild, opting for continuity instead. Management rebuffed interest for Caruso at last season’s trade deadline.

And while there’s a growing sense around the league that LaVine may not be the only Bull made available in potential trade talks, Donovan insists the current focus is to right the ship with the current personnel.

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In 2015-16, Andre Drummond played in the first of his two All-Star games and earned third team All-NBA honors by averaging 16.2 points and a league-high 14.8 rebounds.

His per-36 minute averages that season? 17.7 points and 16.2 rebounds.

Drummond’s per-36 minute averages this season? 16.8 points and 16.4 rebounds.

Granted, Drummond’s role is far different from when he served as a mainstay for the Detroit Pistons, leading the NBA in rebounding four times. He averaged 31.1 minutes over his 7-1/2 seasons in Detroit, while he is playing 13.8 minutes this season.

But the Bulls are benefitting from his buy-in and his energy.

“I got a lot left in the tank, man. Still very healthy. Still very young,” Drummond said Monday. “I still have a lot left to give. I know my role for this team and what I have to give. So I try to do it to the best of my ability.”

Don’t get it twisted. Drummond still believes he’s a starting center in the NBA. And that’s not a bad thing. This mindset and energy has helped him make an impact more often than not in his one-plus seasons with the Bulls.

And given how poorly the Bulls have started games this season, Drummond has played with a reserve group that has helped flip the script of several games this season.

“I think we just know our role,” Drummond said. “From the moment I got here last year to the present day, we made a pact to make sure we impact the game in any way possible when we get out there. Our job is to bring energy if we’re down or, if our team has it rolling, our job is to sustain that or do better. For us, we’re excited about the chemistry we have. We love playing alongside each other.”

That includes newfound chemistry with Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig, the latter of whom is back to a reserve role after starting seven games.

“Playing with those guys has been a lot of fun. Torrey is one of the better defenders in our league. Jevon is a great guard and great shooter and also a great vocal leader. He’s been great coming off the bench and leading us guys, along with myself and Torrey,” Drummond said. “I’m really enjoying the process with these guys. I think it’s going to be a great year for all of us.”

The Bulls’ bench ranks 15^th with a net rating of plus-0.5.

Drummond surprised some by picking up his $3.36 million player option for this season. He’s quick to point out he did so before the Bulls re-signed Nikola Vucevic, who could’ve been an unrestricted free agent.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. I really enjoy playing here,” Drummond said. “Just trying to win as many games as possible.”

Vucevic has consistently said he enjoys going against Drummond in practice and appreciates the mindset Drummond carries that he still believes he’s a starter. Even if Drummond returned to a team in which he isn’t.

“I’ve said this before: I feel like we have unfinished business here. I feel like we didn’t reach our full potential,” Drummond said. “So I wanted to come back and make something happen here.”

Through 14 games, with averages of 6.4 points on 56.9 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds in just 13.8 minutes per game, that’s exactly what Drummond is doing.

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The Chicago Bulls overcame a 21-point, first-quarter deficit Saturday night to defeat the Miami Heat 102-97 at the United Center.

Here are 10 observations:

—Dennis Rodman presented the game ball and drew a loud ovation. That was probably the highlight of the night until the fourth-quarter rally.

—Slow starts have plagued the Bulls of late. But they took matters to a new level this time, missing their first 10 shots and committing three turnovers before Zach Lavine’s running bank shot at the 4 minute, 48 second mark. They trailed 22-1 at the time, drawing boos from the less-than-capacity crowd. Coach Billy Donovan burned two timeouts in this stretch, although one came to challenge an offensive foul on DeMar DeRozan. Fittingly, the Bulls lost the challenge.

—Donovan talked about the slow starts pregame. “Either you’re going to come out of the ring like Mike Tyson or you’re going to come out just kind of bobbing and weaving,” he said. “We’ve got to come out like (Tyson). And we have to be able to sustain it.” Instead, the Bulls got punched in the mouth early again.

“The feeling we all have when we look up and see that, it’s definitely frustrating,” DeRozan said.

—The full reserve unit of Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, Torrey Craig, Patrick Williams and Andre Drummond injected some energy into the game. Dosunmu attacked with a full head of steam on a transition layup attempt, drawing a foul. Drummond dunked with authority. Craig and Carter provided defensive stops and quick decisions. The Bulls ripped off an 11-0 run.

—Overall, the Bulls shot 5-for-20 in the first quarter with three turnovers. They scored 14 points, worsening their league-worst, first-quarter scoring average of 25.3 points. But the reserve unit continued its roll, sprinkled in with some starters returning. The Bulls actually pulled to within two points just over midway through the second quarter. But a poor close to the first half pushed their deficit back to 10 points at the break.

—Carter attempted six 3-pointers in eight first-half minutes. Between his quick decision-making, ability to let it fly from beyond the arc (particularly in transition) and his defensive energy, Carter is making a case to play more. But that’s one issue with the roster: It’s guard-heavy, so at whose expense does Carter play more? Coby White has struggled some of late, but he played well early. Dosunmu remains fearless in attacking. And obviously, LaVine and Caruso will log important minutes.

“Just coming in and trying to provide energy, keep the game simple,” Carter said. “I just try to stay warm and be ready when my name is called. Just try to make a difference.”

—It took until the final minute of the third quarter for one of DeRozan or LaVine to hit double figures. DeRozan arrived via free throws. And while he had attempted nine free throws and LaVine had posted four assists through three quarters, neither had taken more than eight shots. Overall, DeRozan shot 6-for-12 for 23 points, while LaVine shot 5-for-10 for 13 points. To LaVine’s credit, he took what the defense gave him and finished with eight rebounds and six assists while playing competitive defense.

“Just trying to do everything else,” LaVine said. “They were pretty much taking away pick-and-rolls, blitzing it and rotating. The game was slow too. I was able to create, rebound and try to find my opportunities in the third and fourth quarters, which I was able to. But just try to do everything I could to help us get a win.”

—The Bulls shot 44.4 percent overall. The Heat played plenty of zone, daring the Bulls to beat them from outside. The Bulls attempted a season-high 45 3-pointers, making 16. And their commitment to this is what ultimately propelled their comeback. In fact, they tied the game for the first time on a DeRozan 3-pointer with 1:39 left. And they took their first lead of the night on a Caruso 3-pointer with 51.8 left.

“We’ve been turning down open shots, especially looking at film,” DeRozan said. “We put trust in one another making the right play. If somebody has an open shot, just take it.”

—DeRozan scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth, including the go-ahead midrange jumper with 21.9 seconds left. Like LaVine, he let the game come to him. But he exerted his will in the final quarter.

“It was a grind-it-out game,” LaVine said. “We’ve been playing hard but playing from behind the last three or four games. To finally come up with one was good.”

—This being the Bulls’ current state, even a victory created a stir. Social media erupted over a video showing LaVine brushing past a team’s public relations official who was set to feature him in the postgame walkoff interview that’s broadcast throughout the arena. Instead, when LaVine made his quick exit to the locker room, DeRozan filled the role.

“It was just a miscommunication for us and our PR team. We’re all fine. I’m not ticked at all. I’m happy we got a win,” LaVine said. “We play these guys in a couple days. You don’t want to just sit around and celebrate. I’d rather celebrate in the locker room.”

The move was out of character for LaVine, who is typically extremely accommodating with the media and a professional representative of the franchise. And set against the backdrop of his recent openness to being moved, it’s another example of how scrutinized every move he makes will be, particularly since the move didn’t register well with some important figures within the organization.

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The Chicago Bulls held internal conversations on whether or not to start Alex Caruso before the defensive ace did for the first time on Friday night.

Coach Billy Donovan confirmed that following Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, saying Caruso’s two-game absence with a sprained toe merely delayed the inevitable.

And Donovan added that Caruso will start for the foreseeable future. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out the rotation behind their main sparkplug.

“It does put you in a different situation because you’re not playing him for almost 12 straight minutes. I have to take a look at that combination of guys and what that looks like,” Donovan said. “You’re taking a guy that’s your energy guy and he’s going 12 minutes without playing. I have to manage his minutes.”

Indeed, Caruso sat from the 6 minute, 12 second mark of the first quarter to the 7:11 mark of the second because the Bulls are so mindful of keeping him healthy. Caruso logged 23 minutes in his first start, leaving the bench area at one point to get his pinky finger looked at by the training staff.

“It’s just a pinky. It’s been messed up for years,” Caruso said. “And it just got hit a couple times so it just hurts.”

It’s unfortunate for the Bulls that Caruso can’t play 48 minutes. Between his first team All-Defense honors from last season plus his newfound hot shooting from 3-point range, he has been the team’s most impactful player.

Caruso sank three 3-pointers in his first rotational turn.

“I got some open shots early. DeMar (DeRozan) and Zach (LaVine) got downhill. They trust me and when they see me open, they do a good job of hitting me on target.  And then it’s just trusting the work,” Caruso said. “Other than that, I was back to my small ball 4 role, trying to make life hard for Paolo (Banchero). He’s a really strong, athletic guy. Overall, I thought the start was pretty good.”

Caruso later sank a massive 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds left to nudge the Bulls ahead by one point.

“Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) kind of saved it out of bounds and threw it to Coby (White). And I just knew everybody was pretty flat on the court,” Caruso said. “Coby got it and I was ready to shoot. Once I caught it and faced the basket, there was nobody on me. It was a wide-open shot. Gotta shoot it.”

Caruso finished with 18 points, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He’s now shooting a career-high 50 percent from beyond the arc.

“This is probably the most unattached to results that I’ve been in my life basketball-wise as far as shots going in or out. And that’s probably why I’m making most of them. There’s a part of me that doesn’t care,” Caruso said. “If I’m open, I shoot it. I’m playing basketball, competing to win. If it’s the right shot, take it. Trust the work. I worked really hard this summer and this preseason and during the season. There’s no reason not to shoot them.”

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Zach LaVine has been involved in multiple trade rumors during his seven seasons with the Chicago Bulls. And typically, the two-time All-Star responds to them with some variation of “if it didn’t come from my mouth, don’t believe them.”

That’s why Tuesday’s news that LaVine and the Bulls are open to exploring a trade for him and, more important, LaVine’s public response on Wednesday is so significant.

LaVine didn’t take his typical path.

“That’s why I have representatives like Rich Paul. If he speaks on my behalf, that’s my agent. That’s who I obviously have my camp with. They talk to Artūras (Karnišovas) and them,” LaVine said. “My job is to go out here and play. Simple as that.”

Multiple outlets, including NBC Sports Chicago, reported on Tuesday that LaVine, for the first time, is open potentially to a change of scenery. A trade market could take awhile to materialize and, obviously, there are no guarantees the Bulls will find a proper package.

But this feels different.

“My camp talks to them all the time. It’s not like we’re not in a good relationship or a good talking space. We understand the business of basketball, I do more than most people. People talk. I’ve been in trade talks for a long time, so I understand the situation,” LaVine said. “But once news is always broken it’s a big thing. It’s not like it will be the first or the last time it’s going to happen with my name. As of right now I’m excited to still put this jersey on and go out here and play, try and get this win (Wednesday).”

Asked directly if he wants to be elsewhere, LaVine didn’t opt for yes or no.

“If we need to talk about that at a time, you know … right now is not that time to really talk about that. Play the Orlando Magic (Wednesday), try and get a win,” he said. “If something comes obviously out later on that will be the time I talk about it.

“I mean, I think it’s a combination of things where if you’re in a losing situation or a place you’re not winning games, people are frustrated. From players to the front office, the coaches … we’re not happy because we’re not winning. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s just the nature of the business. More things come up when you’re not in a winning environment.”

The Bulls held exploratory trade talks centered on LaVine during the offseason, but those didn’t gain traction, sources said at the time. NBC Sports Chicago reported then that some members of the organization have wavered in their belief as LaVine as a lead option on a championship-contending team.

Asked if he feels supported by the organization, LaVine said yes.

“I’ve been supported in Chicago for a long time. I’ve been here for seven years now, and never not been supported,” he said. “Love my time here in Chicago, always loved being a Bull, and that hasn’t changed.

“That’s why I’m here. They obviously offered me a contract to be here for a long time. Do I think we’re a championship team right now? No, but it’s a work in progress. I think everybody goes through ups and down, players, teams, we’re in a situation now where we just want to win. That’s all I want to do too.

“Do I feel frustrated? I’m frustrated we’re not winning. I think if you’re not frustrated, that’s a problem. It’s an upsetting thing when we’ve been trying to do the right thing for the last three or four years. It seems like we’re in the same place. We’re trying to get over that hump. We’re working every day for it. We’re going to keep doing that.”

And for those worried about LaVine not remaining professional or committed to winning, there’s no need.

“I don’t take anything for granted. My time here has been nothing but wonderful. I’ve grown up here. I’ve raised a family here. Had some great memories,” LaVine said. “Hopefully, people understand that, how much I care about Chicago.

“If I don’t have any beliefs, there’s no reason for me to go out there and play. As long as I put that Chicago Bulls jersey on, I’m going out there to win and play my heart out.”

And perhaps all this goes away. Perhaps the Bulls start winning, LaVine regains his All-Star form and this becomes forgotten fodder down the road.

“If you’re in a winning situation, a lot of rumors and trade things don’t come up,” LaVine said. “Obviously, we want to get a win (Wednesday) and get things back on track.”

But this situation is different than those in the past where LaVine’s name has landed in trade rumors.

“This is a business, man,” LaVine said. “We’ve dealt with a lot more than people talking in the media. There’s been a lot more than that. Obviously, there was some news in the media. But we’re grown men. We’re a professional business. We know how to handle that.”

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Alex Caruso returned Wednesday night from missing two games with a sprained left toe and, as usual, found himself in the center of much of the important action.

That included his one-on-one defense against Paolo Banchero, to whom he cedes five inches, on Banchero’s game-winning basket with 1.4 seconds left.

A basket Caruso is curious to see if it should’ve counted once the NBA releases its Last Two Minute Report on Thursday.

“He made a tough shot. The ball bounced like four times on the rim and went in,” Caruso said. “Without saying too much, we’ll look at the Two Minute Report and see what happened with the foot movement for Paolo. Overall, I tried to make it tough on him.

“I think the bigger thing is probably don’t put ourselves in that position to leave it to chance on the last play of the game.”

Indeed, Caruso didn’t blame a potential missed call in the 96-94 loss for the Bulls’ offensive woes, which included a paltry 33 points in the first half and just 39.8 percent shooting overall and 27.3 percent from 3-point range.

“We were a little stuck in mud,” Caruso said. “It looked like the college games (Tuesday) night for a handful of minutes.”

The Bulls rallied from 19 points down and tied it on Zach LaVine’s second 3-pointer in the final 17.4 seconds. Caruso helped lead the comeback with his typically adhesive defense and some timely shotmaking, though he rued two open 3-point looks he missed during his 16-point night.

On Banchero’s winning basket, coach Billy Donovan wanted to see more backside contest.

“Alex bodied him, got him off,” Donovan said. “As he got closer to the lane line and he went, we probably needed to bring a few more hands to alter the shot a little more.”

At least Caruso is back.

“It was good for the most part,” he said of his toe. “There were a couple instances where it kind of pulled at me. But I talked to the medical team before the game. They do a good job of informing me of stuff. There’s nothing structurally wrong with it. It’s just sore.”

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Speaking before Wednesday’s home game against the Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he has strong communication with Zach LaVine and isn’t worried about the two-time All-Star disengaging from the team as his potential trade saga unfolds over the coming weeks.

“He’s always been coachable,” Donovan said. “He’s always been a guy you can go to and talk to. . . . He’s got a job to do just like I do and the rest of the team does. And you have to put your best foot forward and go to work.”

Donovan said he visited LaVine twice this offseason in Los Angeles and has always found him responsive to communication.

“He’s always been been very welcoming when I’ve come out there,” Donovan said. “We’ve always had really good conversations. He’s always responsive to text messages and phone calls. So I haven’t seen anything where it’s like, ‘OK, this guy has really pushed himself all the way over here and he’s just totally disconnected from everybody. I have not seen that at all.

“I would think that if there’s anything he’d want to talk to a teammate about or a coach about or me about that he as a man would come up and do that. I do think our conversations have been very open and honest. And I think he has worked hard at the relationship just as I have.”

Donovan downplayed concerns about LaVine remaining professional or his situation impacting the locker room. He also said he consistently talks to management and knows if something were to be imminent, he’d be aware of it.

“Artūras (Karnišovas) and I talk all the time,” Donovan said. “I’ve always told you: When stuff comes up that’s something really important or something that’s potentially going to happen, he’s always been great about getting my opinion on it. Everything else for us has been what we can do to help the team.”

Donovan’s coaching style is to be direct. Karnišovas consistently praises his communication skills.

“If there’s a problem, I’m straight up. Just deal with it head on and let’s talk about it. That’s the way I am. And Zach in different situations that we’ve been together, he’s voiced different things to me. And that’s OK,” Donovan said. “We’ll talk through things or whatever it may be. I wouldn’t say those conversations are abnormal for any other guys I’ve coached. Everyone is trying to put their best foot forward to figure out how to improve.”

In fact, Donovan has said he doesn’t mind conflict. Just look at his in-game exchange with Nikola Vucevic from Opening Night.

“I think my truth is my truth, right? That doesn’t need to mean that my truth is the right way, the only way,” Donovan said. “Someone could have the same situation and their truth could be totally different. But what you do is you come together and you have a conversation and you deal with it head on. I’ve always been a big believer of that. I think the conflict part, the confrontation part, people think it’s yelling and screaming and it’s not necessarily that. It’s just confronting whatever the issue is. I think you have to lean into that stuff.

“I’m going to always be honest in terms of how I feel. That’s not to say that my feelings are always right. There are times that players express themselves and you take a step back and say, you know what, that player’s right. And I think there’s been times where a player stepped back and said, you know what, he’s right. And when you have those conversations, you’re at least moving towards solving things and I’ve just always been a big believer of that.”

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MILWAUKEE — The Chicago Bulls dropped to 4-7 following their 118-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks Monday night at FiServ Forum.

Here are 10 observations from the loss:

—Alex Caruso missed his second straight game with a left toe sprain suffered last week in practice. Both Caruso and coach Billy Donovan said it’s likely Caruso plays later this week, either Wednesday or Friday at home against the Orlando Magic. “I’m just bored,” Caruso said. And the Bulls’ defense is challenged without him.

—For the second straight night, the Bulls missed their first eight shots. On Sunday night, the Bulls took 3 minutes, 27 seconds after tipoff to score. Monday night, Torrey Craig’s putback came 3:04 following tipoff.

—The woes continued. The Bulls finished the first quarter just 6-for-23 and trailed 35-18 after the opening period. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 13 points and seven rebounds in the first period alone and finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds.

—The NBA is often called “a game of runs” and that certainly played out Monday. The Bucks opened the game on a 9-0 run, followed by the Bulls scoring eight straight points and then the Bucks opening up another 11-0 run. Then the Bulls opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run capped by Jevon Carter stealing the ball from Antetokounmpo and sinking a 3-pointer in transition. But the Bucks answered with a 10-0 run late in the second to take a 10-point halftime lead. The Bulls opened the second half with a 7-0 run and later took their first lead, only to be followed by the Bucks ripping off a 12-0 run.

—The Bulls had to be thankful only to be down 59-49 at halftime. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined to miss their first nine shots. LaVine finally sank a shot at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter on a midrange jumper. DeRozan followed with a short bank shot at the 3:34 mark. They were a combined 2-for-16 at halftime.

“Zach did a really good job of getting downhill. He had stuff around the basket (he missed) and that’s just a little bit uncharacteristic,” Donovan said. “He’s such an elite finisher.

“And I thought DeMar got to his spots like he normally has. I don’t think they’re necessarily getting different kind of shots. They’re elite scorers and you always feel good when those guys shoot the ball.”

—The Bulls scored 22 points off turnovers, continuing a season-long strength. They entered second in the NBA with 21.8 points per game scored off turnovers. And their elite ball security continued. They lead the NBA in fewest turnovers and committed just eight against the Bucks.

—DeRozan registered the assist of the season when he somehow found Coby White for a corner 3-pointer on a pass in which DeRozan spun almost completely around in air. It capped a wild sequence in which the Bulls missed three layups but kept pounding the offensive boards. It also came during a run in which the Bulls fully erased their first-half, 17-point deficit and took their first lead.

—The Bulls continue to shoot poorly to open this season. They finished third for third in the NBA last season by shooting 49 percent. They entered 25^th at just 45 percent and finished at 38 percent against the Bucks. DeRozan and LaVine are well below their career percentages.

“I’m not concerned about it at well. Of course you want to be shooting well and right now, we’re not. But we’re getting a lot of great looks,” DeRozan said. “We’re getting more confident moving the ball, finding guys, getting open shots, getting aggressive going to the basket. We can’t stop that and get frustrated.

“I’m confident because we’re generating the shots we want. . . . I know it’s going to turn for me and Zach, for everybody.”

To LaVine’s credit, he filled the box score with eight rebounds, five assists and 8-for-8 from the line. But obviously, both players need to shoot better for the Bulls to succeed. DeRozan finished 3-for-14, while LaVine shot 5-for-19. LaVine is an elite finisher and missed all five attempts in the restricted area.

“It’s not like we’re getting good ones,” LaVine said. “We got to stick with it, trust our work. It’s frustrating because you expect yourself to do better.

“I didn’t make any damn layups. They’ll start dropping. I trust what I do.”

DeRozan even broke out a guarantee.

“It won’t happen again,” he said. “Simple as that. I don’t make too many guarantees. But when I do, it tends to work in my favor.”

—For the second straight game, Donovan closed with Patrick Williams. This despite an extremely active game from Craig, who finished with eight points and 12 rebounds and kept alive several possessions with offensive rebounds. Williams played aggressively after a quiet night on Sunday, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds. He also played strong defense down the stretch. Donovan said closing with Williams was largely a result of Caruso’s absence and because he liked how Williams defended Antetokounmpo.

—The loss wasted a strong night from Nikola Vucevic, who finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Vucevic has six double-doubles on the young season.

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The NBA is all about opportunity.

Ayo Dosunmu understands that as well as anyone, taking advantage during his rookie season when Lonzo Ball to unexpectedly start 40 games.

Now that Dosunmu is on the other side of that equation, the 10th player in Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s 10-man rotation, he still works to prepare himself for any opportunity.

Sunday night provided it. With Alex Caruso sidelined with a toe strain that is considered day-to-day, Dosunmu logged first-quarter minutes for the first time this season, played a season-high 26 minutes, 38 seconds and finished a game-best plus-19 to help the Bulls defeat the Pistons at the United Center.

“We have a very deep team,” Dosunmu said. “You have to be a true professional and be ready to seize the moment any given night. You have to work out each day. You never know. You have to be ready at all times.”

Dosunmu finished with 13 points, four steals, three assists and zero turnovers. He sank six of seven shots and helped flip the energy of the game when he entered after the Bulls endured another slow start.

The Bulls enjoyed a 20-2 run in the second quarter that featured Dosunmu playing a major role with his ball-hawking defense and push-the-pace offensive mentality.

“I told him, ‘That (second) quarter was because of you,” DeMar DeRozan said. “The energy he brought, getting out in transition, getting those layups and steals, I let him know.”

Both Dosunmu and Jevon Carter have played well in limited roles. Donovan typically likes to use a nine-man rotation, staggering either DeRozan or Zach LaVine to play with the second unit.

While he still uses this rotational look, using 10 players has typically left Dosunmu and Carter wanting for more. But instead of complaining, they’re contributing.

“Any time you can help give some energy to our team, it’s a positive,” Dosunmu said. “Me coming off the bench, I can see what the game needs. And I think that’s something I’ve taken away from coming off the bench.

“I know it’s a long season. I know we have a pretty deep team. The better I get, the more I can push the team. That will help the team down the road.”

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The Chicago Bulls improved to 4-6 with Sunday’s home victory over the Detroit Pistons at the United Center, avenging a road loss last month.

Here are 10 observations from the victory:

—The Bulls absorbed a blow pregame when Alex Caruso sat with a left toe strain. Caruso suffered the injury, which isn’t believed to be serious, during Thursday’s practice. Caruso has been the team’s most impactful player by a considerable margin; the net rating is 13.3 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than off.

—The Bulls started slowly again. They missed their first eight shots, took 3 minutes, 23 seconds to score on a DeMar DeRozan driving layup and generally looked flat. This is a poor response for a team coming off three off days and facing a young, rebuilding Pistons team that beat them last month. Donovan already has changed the starting lineup once. It’s unlikely he does so again unless Caruso enters it. It’s on the starters, particularly, DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic to come out with more urgency.

—Caruso’s absence obviously upended the rotation. Ayo Dosunmu logged first-quarter minutes for the first time this season. But the reserves did what they’ve done several times with Caruso; they changed the energy of the game. Andre Drummond had four points and six rebounds in his first rotational turn (and finished with a double-double in 15 minutes). And Dosunmu supplied excellent defense and push-the-pace offensive energy throughout a game-changing, 20-2 run in the second quarter.

—The Bulls prioritized improving offensive rebounding, but in the early stages of this season, it has come at a cost to their defensive rebounding. They entered 28^th in that department and, even though the Pistons played without athletic center Jalen Duren, struggled in the early going to limit second-chance opportunities. Duren, who sat with an ankle injury, killed the Bulls in Detroit with 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. But Donovan said the Bulls need to consistently fill in holes created by defensive rotations and chase long rebounds off 3-pointers better no matter the opposing personnel.

—What the Bulls have done well consistently all season—and did so again on Sunday—is score points off turnovers. They entered second in the NBA with 21.4 points per game off turnovers and had 19 by halftime. Dosunmu converted one possession with a nifty alley-oop lob to LaVine for a transition dunk. They finished with 25 points scored off turnovers.

–Coby White continued his strong season with 16 points and seven assists. Making the performance even more impressive was that White started off cold from the field. But it didn’t impact his defense and, eventually, that energy transferred to the offensive end. White fouled out in the final minute.

—Patrick Williams continues to endure a nightmarish shooting start to his season. He missed both his field-goal attempts, including one from 3-point range. He’s now 7-for-31 from beyond the arc this season. To his credit, Williams attacked the rim, getting to the line six times. That included two off a steal and transition attempt.

—DeRozan finished with a game-high 29 points and victimized Kevin Knox III with one of his patented pump-fake and ripthrough moves early in the fourth quarter. DeRozan sank the free throw for a traditional three-point play and five-point lead at the time. He also tied his career-high with four blocks.

—Dosunmu finished a game-high plus-19. He also played double the minutes of Jevon Carter.

—The Bulls continue taking care of the ball, finishing with just seven turnovers. It has been a strong suit all season.

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Eight games in 15 days. No airplane rides. Seven of them at the United Center.

Save the one-game-at-a-time cliches for the teams that either have championship aspirations or haven’t dug a considerable hole. The Chicago Bulls belong to neither category.

It’s why this schedule stretch is so crucial to their season’s fortunes. Navigate it well, and the ability to right the ship following a teetering start is possible. Continue to lurch forward in the on-again, off-again pattern that has defined the season to this point and the belief that personnel changes are coming will only intensify.

After opening with the best offensive performance of the season to take care of Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz, the Bulls wasted a golden opportunity—and Alex Caruso’s defensive wizardry—to begin the stretch with two straight victories, instead dropping Wednesday’s game to the Phoenix Suns in overtime.

In another schedule rarity, the Bulls are enjoying three off days between that game and Sunday’s home matchup with the Detroit Pistons. The same Pistons team that handled the Bulls easily in Detroit on October 28 despite Zach LaVine’s 51 points.

The Bulls took Thursday off, practiced at the Advocate Center on Friday and are scheduled to do so again on Saturday. With Sunday’s tip time one hour earlier than usual at 6 p.m., they are scheduled to hold a walkthrough rather than a shootaround.

That they can bus to Milwaukee following that game for one of only two sets of back-to-back games in the eight-game stretch is equally important. The Bulls last flew following their Nov. 4 road loss in Denver. They aren’t scheduled to do so again until Nov. 21, the day before they open a four-game trip in Oklahoma City. The same Thunder team that easily handled the Bulls in the Oct. 25 season opener.

It’s rare when a team doesn’t have to fly for over two weeks during any regular season. Couple that with the fact the Bulls have consecutive home-and-home series with the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat—two teams with whom they ultimately could be competing for late playoff or play-in spots—-and this stretch only grows in importance.

Wednesday’s first of two matchups with the Magic also features Orlando finishing a back-to-back with travel; Orlando plays in Brooklyn the previous night. This is the type of schedule situation that good teams, or teams needing to climb out of early-season holes, take advantage of and do so decisively.

The Magic also are without Wendell Carter Jr. The former Bull, who loves facing his old team and has had posted numerous loud stat lines while doing so, has a fractured bone in his left hand.

As for the Heat, Miami is without Tyler Herro, who was off to a strong start with averages of 22.9 points per game on 41 percent 3-point shooting. He has a badly sprained ankle. That’s another situation the Bulls need to exploit.

“Every game is tough, regardless of who you’re playing,” LaVine told reporters on Friday. “It can be the No. 1 seed in the East or the bottom seed. Every team can win. It’s us worrying about what we can do instead of worrying about the future.”

The Bulls opened this eight-game stretch with a 2-5 mark and currently sit 3-6, 12th in the Eastern Conference. Asking a team with a current net rating of minus-5.1 to run the table and navigate this stretch with a 7-1 mark is probably unrealistic. But realistically for any lasting impact, the Bulls probably need to go 6-2, maybe 5-3.

Especially because the Bulls, to this point, have enjoyed perfect health save for, obviously, Lonzo Ball. It’s time.

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“I do know that the goal is to have Patrick here for the long term,” Donovan said. “That, I would say, has been pretty consistent all the way through.”

How does Williams react when he hears his head coach wants him to remain with the Bulls?

“I love it. I love it here. I love the city, I love the team. I love what we’re about,” Williams said Monday. “We’re about winning. There’s no gimmicks. There’s no moral victories over here. Obviously, I love it.”

Confusion about Williams’ long-term outlook with the Bulls unfolded for two reasons.

Earlier this season, the Bulls and Williams failed to reach an agreement on an extension of his rookie contract. However, the absence of a new contract doesn’t bum him out. He said then, in late October, his mindset wouldn’t change and he leaves anything from his personal life behind him “any time I step between those four lines.”

That doesn’t preclude him, however, from believing he deserves a significant contract number.

“I’ve never been good at the business of basketball. It really hasn’t been much of an importance of mine up until this point. But obviously, this is how I feed my family. Obviously, I want a big contract. I think that’s what I work for and I think it’s what I’m worth. But whenever it comes, it comes,” Williams said. “I’m not 100 percent going to say this summer or next summer or whenever it may be. I go out and hoop and try to win games. My main focus now is helping this team get over the next hump and myself over that hump.”

The other reason for confusion about Williams’ long-term outlook stems from more recent.

Last Friday, Donovan opted to move Williams to the bench prior to their game against the Brooklyn Nets. Williams has gotten out of the blocks slow offensively this season. For that, Donovan tried Williams with the second unit to open up more opportunities.

The combination of the Bulls and Williams’ failure to connect on a contract, and his recent move to the bench, sparked curiosity about his future beyond this season with the Bulls.

Though, there doesn’t appear to be any confusion on the Bulls’ end. They want him back for the long term. Williams wants to stay in Chicago, too.

And in his third game coming off the bench, Donovan is pleased with how the 22-year-old performed.

“I thought he was good tonight,” Donovan said Monday. “I thought he had a chance to have had a pretty explosive night. He had some plays that were really close to finishing on some drives. Spins in the lane, get a couple of offensive rebounds. He shot the ball well from three (point range). He knocked down some threes. But yeah, I thought he played well. I liked the way he played.”

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Practice, games — it doesn’t matter. Carter wears two different colored shoes anytime he’s on the floor.

Why does he do that?

“So, first, when I came into the league I was with And-1, right? I was the only athlete with And-1,” Carter said to reporters at shoot around on Tuesday. “So, I was trying to help And-1 bring more awareness to the brand. And at that time, I wasn’t really playing. So I’m like ‘How can I bring awareness when I’m not playing?’

“So I’m like I’m gonna try to sit on the bench to wear I can be seen on TV with having two mismatched colored shoes on. At least that’ll get the thought of like ‘Why is he wearing mismatched colored shoes? What shoes is he wearing?’ So from there, I just kinda stuck with it once my deal with And-1 was done.”

DeMar DeRozan, once against Carter’s style, is now a major proponent after Carter joined the Bulls.

“I love them. I love them. I’m all for it,” DeRozan said. “I definitely endorse the mismatched shoes. I think one day I saw him with the same shoe on both feet and I got upset. Like man, where is the other colored shoe at?”

It’s hard to catch Carter without the mismatched-colored shoes. Go to a Bulls game, and see if he’s wearing the same colored shoes. I doubt you’ll catch him otherwise.

It’s an interesting tidbit about the Bulls point guard. I bet most people wouldn’t know he was the only And-1 athlete during his first years in the NBA, too.

Since joining the Bulls, Carter’s made a name for himself through relentless pickpocketing and 3-point shooting, especially in transition. He’s a crafty point guard who enjoys talking trash to his opponents, too.

This season, he’s averaging 7.8 points and 1.3 assists per contest 52.2% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from beyond the arc. He provides a much-needed two-way spark for the Bulls in their second unit, and not just from a fashion perspective.

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Here are 10 observations from the game:

— The Bulls have been banged up recently. But when the game starts, they pull it together. That rang true on Monday, as the Bulls played a fully healthy lineup. Ayo Dosunmu, who missed the last two games (illness), made his return to the team against the Jazz.

— Quickly, the Bulls found their rhythm from beyond the arc. They shot 6-of-9 from downtown in the first quarter. They finished 10-of-21 for the first half, good for 47.6% from behind the arc. The Jazz shot 10-of-40 in the first half from downtown. The Bulls finished shooting 52.9% and the Jazz 37.5%.

— Jevon Carter provided Jevon Carter minutes in the first half. He hit three 3-point shots and added two steals to his early stat sheet. More on him in the next bullet point.

— Upon Dosunmu’s return to the floor, he forced the question — how will Billy Donovan spread the minutes between Dosunmu, Carter and Coby White? He answered that in the first half. White dominated, playing 16 minutes. Carter played eight minutes, Dosunmu six. Here’s how it finished: White (29), Carter (17), Dosunmu (16).

— Andre Drummond reached the career 10,000-rebound mark in the second quarter. This was fitting, considering he notched five rebounds in the first half from eight minutes on the floor. Oh, did I mention they were ALL offensive rebounds? He earned a quick eight points from them. He finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

— Lauri Markkanen, expectedly, became the center of attention for the Bulls on the defensive end. The former Bull put up 14 points in the first half off 4-of-6 shooting and two perfect trips from the line. The Jazz run a lot of action to try and get him open from beyond the arc. And when the Bulls force him to dish the rock, he does, as he turned those possessions into three early assists.

— The real reason the Bulls led the Jazz 66-52 in the first half? Turnovers. The Jazz turned the ball over 15 times to the Bulls’ squeaky clean four giveaways (23-8, by the end). The Bulls notched nine steals and three blocks in the first half alone, reminiscent of some solid defense. Remember, the Bulls similarly produced some top-tier defense against the Nuggets, last game, in the first half. Can they keep it up this time in the second half?

— The bench provided terrific offensive help, totaling 52 points. Williams (10), Drummond (12), Carter (12), Caruso (10), Dosunmu (8) were the driving force of the game.

—- The Patrick Williams bench experiment underwent its third trial on Monday night. For a second time, in my opinion, it worked. He scored 10 points and notched three rebounds in 23 bench minutes.

— To answer the question from point No. 7, they kept it up. Outside of Markkanen (29 points), the Jazz’ key players were quiet. Jordan Clarkson (7 points), John Collins (14 points) and Walker Kessler (15 points) couldn’t get much done offensively.

The Bulls moved past their “get right” game against a struggling Jazz team. Their Monday night win marked the end of their three-game losing skid. Now, they’ll get a step up from that with a struggling Phoenix Suns team that is riddled with injury.

Bradley Beal didn’t play on Sunday and Devin Booker is already unlikely to play against the Bulls on Wednesday.

Can the Bulls capitalize on the momentum? Tune in on Wednesday.

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Through a 2-5 start, the offense has struggled.

DeMar DeRozan told reporters in Denver following Saturday’s loss to the Nuggets that the offense “is going to get there” and that he has worries about it eventually clicking. His and Zach LaVine’s uncharacteristic poor shooting starts have exacerbated the issue.

Here’s where the Bulls stand after seven games in major offensive categories. Making their struggles even more maddening, they lead the NBA in ball security. They have attacked the paint and offensive rebounded better than last season.

Offensive rating: 106.2 (26th)

Net rating: minus-8.8 (28th)

Turnovers/game: 12.1 (1st)

Assists/game: 21 (29th)

Pace: 97.4 (29th)

3-point attempts/game: 30.4 (26th)

3-point makes/game: 9.4 (28th)

Free-throw attempts/game: 20.1 (21st)

Free-throw makes/game: 15.9 (19th)

The Bulls begin a three-game homestand on Monday against Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz.

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Here are 10 observations from tonight’s game:

— Torrey Craig got his first start for the Bulls, taking over for Patrick Williams. Heading into the game, Williams went scoreless in two of the last three games. Williams has shown hustle, per usual, this season. But his failure to get anything going on offense forced Billy Donovan’s hand with the starting lineup, moving him to the second unit.

— Ayo Dosunmu missed Friday night’s game and will not travel to Denver with the team due to an upper respiratory illness. Along with Jevon Carter, Dosunmu has been playing terrific two-way minutes off the bench. Donovan rolled with a nine-man rotation on Friday, bringing Williams, Caruso, Carter and Drummond off the bench.

— The Bulls turned the ball over a decent amount early and the Nets took advantage. They scored an early 10 points off Bulls turnovers and generated 14 fast break points to the Bulls’ paltry four. Maybe the Bulls’ turnovers were underlined by the Nets’ lack of, but still, they need to take better care of the ball. Nets put down 35 points in the first quarter.

— Both teams couldn’t miss from the 3-point line in the first half. The Nets, who have the second-best 3-point percentage in the league, knocked down 11 first-half 3’s on 21 attempts. The Bulls hung with them, shooting 9-of-17 from downtown. This game marked only the second game this NBA season where both teams notched 9+ 3-pointers in the first half.

— As Stacey King always says, KYP, or “know your personnel.” The Bulls found a way to keep Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridgers considerably under wraps in the first half on 44% combined shooting. But Royce O’Neal and Dorian Finney-Smith dominated, shooting a combined 8-of-18 (7-of-10 in the first half) from behind the arc.

— On that last point, the Bulls dutifully made adjustments between quarters that stuck for the majority of the game. They closed out on the perimeter, generated turnovers in the paint and forced several shot clock violations. The Bulls allowed the Nets to put up 35 points in the first frame, but just 24 points in the second, 19 in the third, but a critical 31 in the fourth.

— Without Nic Claxton, the Nets rolled out a fairly small lineup. But the Bulls didn’t take advantage of getting the ball to Nikola Vucevic to capitalize. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned before the game the Nets’ would need to respect Vucevic in the paint. He ended with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

— Williams heard Donovan’s message of moving him to the bench loud and clear. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, adding five rebounds and an assist. Will Donovan keep Williams on the bench? Craig wasn’t amazing in the starting lineup (3 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) but his veteran presence and defensive prowess might fit better with the starters. Williams would certainly have more offensive opportunities off the bench, too.

— Zach LaVine was given the ball for a late shot to try and tie the game down three points. Unfortunately, a well-timed Ben Simmons foul sent him to the free-throw line. The combination of Vucevic and Andre Drummond was able to turn LaVine’s second missed free throw into an offensive rebound, but he couldn’t sink what would’ve been the game-winning shot.

— The Bulls are now 0-1 in the In-Season Tournament. They have three more games on their four-game in-season tournament slate. They play the Orlando Magic at home on Nov. 17, then the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics on Nov. 24 and 28, respectively, each on the road.

HM: How about that aesthetic at the United Center on Friday night? The Bulls changed their court floor for the first time in its history, rocking an all-red floor with a white Bulls logo in the middle over the NBA cup. They donned the 2023-24 City Edition jerseys to match the event, too.

The Bulls play the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night on the road.

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The Bulls will wear their Nike NBA City Edition uniforms for the first time. And they give a strong nod to the building that preceded the United Center, the famed—and razed—Chicago Stadium.

The “Madhouse on Madison” is where the Bulls’ first three-peat teams played, and Friday’s uniforms pay tribute in details ranging from the parallel “Chicago” on the jersey that replicates the signage outside Chicago Stadium to the two parallel stripes on the shorts representing “the four-corner window patterning” on the old barn.

Originally opened in 1929, the Chicago Stadium housed events ranging from championship boxing matches to Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The building closed when the United Center opened in August 1994 and was demolished in 1995.

The jersey also features the phrase “Madhouse on Madison,” given to the building for its architectural design that made the noise from the first and second balconies so loud, as well as the famed pipe organ.

The Bulls, who first began playing at the Chicago Stadium in their second season in 1967, will also sports these uniforms for In-Season Tournament games on Nov. 17 versus the Orlando Magic and Nov. 28 against the Boston Celtics.

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The Chicago Bulls dropped to 2-3 following a 114-105 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas Wednesday night. Here are 10 observations from the loss:

—The Bulls’ defensive game plan on Luka Dončić was simple—make somebody else beat them. The Bulls trapped Dončić at almost every opportunity, sometimes as soon as he crossed midcourt, trying to force him into becoming a passer. Obviously, Dončić is very good at that. But given that Dončić entered averaging 39 points per game for the league’s highest-scoring offense, it was a smart plan.

—The issue was: The Mavericks’ role players came through. Dončić finished with 18 points on 5-for-16 shooting, adding 10 assists and seven rebounds. But Grant Williams and Tim Hardaway Jr. each sank seven 3-pointers as the Mavericks enjoyed a 27-point advantage from beyond the arc. Dallas shot 20-48 from 3-point range, while the Bulls finished 11-30 in a familiar math problem.

—The Mavericks also posted 24 second-chance points and the three biggest came in the final minute. The Bulls failed to corral two defensive rebounds before Josh Green buried a 3-pointer for the biggest lead of the night, nine points.

—Patrick Williams continues to struggle. He finished scoreless for the second time in three games and missed all six shots, including 0-5 from 3-point range. He’s now shooting 26.7 percent on the young season, including 12.5 percent from 3-point range.

—With 16 points, DeRozan passed Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list. On Monday in Indianapolis, DeRozan talked about what that would mean to him, among other topics, in a sitdown with NBC Sports Chicago.

—The Bulls continue to get strong minutes from Ayo Dosunmu in his limited role as the fifth guard. Jevon Carter also scored in double figures for the second straight game. The issue here is both are providing solid, two-way minutes. But with LaVine, Coby White and Alex Caruso in front of them, minutes are scarce.

—In his second straight big game, Nikola Vucevic posted his first 20-20 game in a Bulls uniform and the eighth of his career. He finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds, shooting 10-for-17.

—Old friend Derrick Jones Jr. scored the Mavericks’ first seven points of the second half and finished with 17. Jones Jr., who spent the last two seasons with the Bulls before declining his player opton, starts for the Mavericks. And his role is a good one for him—run the floor in transition and space the floor for Dončić with corner 3-point shooting.

—The Bulls finished 28th in offensive rebounding and 30th in second-chance points last season and they continue to try to flip that script. They finished with 12 offensive rebounds but only converted 11 second-chance points this time. and one first-half possession summed up their futility; they grabbed four offensive rebounds and missed five shots.

—After coming up on the short end of some high-profile misses confirmed by the league’s Last Two-Minute Reports last season, perhaps the Bulls’ karma is turning this season. Not only did they benefit from two missed calls in their overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors last week, now they’re benefitting from star players sitting against them. Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game with a sprained left foot.

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INDIANAPOLIS — DeMar DeRozan long has been a student of the game and fan of NBA history.

So when the 39^th-most prolific scorer in NBA history (44^th if you include combined NBA/ABA statistics) heard he needed just 34 points to pass Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list, DeRozan shook his head.

“I mean, that’s Larry Bird,” DeRozan said. “From a fan perspective, it’s amazing. It’s an honor.”

DeRozan holds NBA legends in high regard and, one day, could take his place alongside them. He is crafting a case for possible enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame whenever his career ends.

But legends isn’t the only “L” word associated with DeRozan. Loyalty is.

In this age of player empowerment and players requesting trades, DeRozan hasn’t got caught up in the business of basketball. He’s playing this season on an expiring contract.

Against that backdrop, DeRozan sat down with NBC Sports Chicago following Monday’s shootaround at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to talk loyalty, longevity and scoring legends of the game.

NBC Sports Chicago: You’ve always said you don’t get involved in contract stuff or the business of basketball. But in this age of player empowerment and players requesting trades or trying to form super teams, that’s not always the route. So where does that stance come from for you?

DeMar DeRozan: Honestly, it just comes from the gratitude of being able to play this game. I don’t ever take it for granted, no matter how much recognition I may get. The older I get and the more mature I become and to still be playing at a high level 15 years in, I just appreciate it all. I’ve had so many friends that were my teammates that didn’t last this long. I’ve had other teammates who were greedy or entitled and felt like everything revolved around them. And next thing you know, you never see them again. With my humble beginnings and where I came from, I’m just happy to be playing. As long as I’m playing, I always feel everything else takes care of itself.

You’ve never been tempted to try to force your way to a preferred situation?

Nah. My whole life, I’ve always been this way: Control what you can control. This may sound cliché, but I’m big on being professional even in the toughest of times. It’s always easy to run away or find an excuse or blame somebody else or whatever. But sticking through something always teaches you a lesson. Some people demand trades or demand certain things and they still don’t get what they want. For me, I just wake up and try to be the best I can be that day and let it translate over.

But what’s your take on this age of player empowerment? I mean, you’re friends or friendly with most everybody in this league. Surely, someone you know or like has been one of those players who took his future in his own hands and tried to get somewhere he wanted to be.

To each his own. And guys who demand trades or get traded, one thing I always ask them: Are you happy? As long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters. A lot of guys have families and they’re looking at it as a bigger picture than basketball, somewhere they can be stable, somewhere they may want to live after they finish playing. I’m not against it at all. I support anything that anybody wants to do that’s better for them. But as for me, I never got caught up into it. I feel like I wouldn’t be able to lay down comfortably if I went somewhere and said, ‘(Expletive) trade me. I’m tired of this.’ That’s just not me. I’m going to compete, be the best version I can be and let it go from there.

Is loyalty important to you?

Once I’m in, I’m in. That’s the type of friend I am. If I call you my friend, I’m in it with you. You can call me in the middle of the night and I’ll walk with you to the grocery store if that’s what you need. That’s just how I view it—fun times, tough times. I’m not just in it for perfection. I’m in it for whatever else comes with it. That’s my mindset and I don’t waver from that.

All that said, how difficult is it playing this season without an extension yet?

I honestly don’t think about it at all. I never have. It doesn’t worry me or stress me out. Again, I control what I can control. And in due time, let it speak for itself.

Have you thought about how long you want to play?

Me having kids it has crossed my mind for the simple fact of you miss so much time. You miss your kids. You want to be there to support your kids and see their activities. As you get older, that perspective comes into play. How much more are you willing to miss? How much more do you have to give to the game? It crosses my mind, especially when I’m with my kids. But I don’t know the answer yet.

You take care of your body. Your game seems the type to age gracefully. Does a 20-season or 20-plus-season career like Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett or Vince Carter hold appeal?

That’s a beautiful mark to get to. Fifteen (seasons) in, another five, six is far down the road. I just take it as it comes, honestly. I tell the young guys now: Enjoy and appreciate it while you’re young because as you get older, your perspective changes. You start to gain more responsibility in life. It gets tougher. Those hotel nights get longer. But me being a fan of the game, man, I never wanted to see Kobe retire. I remember when (Michael) Jordan retired, I just knew he was going to come back even after the Wizards. Being in that position, you want to give the game all you can give.

I’ve talked to you before about your standing on the all-time scoring list. Do you ever check that and see who you have coming up?

Nah, not really. But I did see before this season the amount of people I could pass. It blew my mind.

We’re in Indiana and you’re 33 points from Larry Bird, who scored his 21,791 points in just 897 games because he was cold.

Listen, that’s a player who I watched a whole bunch of film of over the years. And he was a bad man.

So what will passing him mean to you?

I mean, that’s Larry Bird. When I see stuff like that, I have stuff with a lot of my friends about it during the summertime. Like, ‘I got more points than Larry Bird.’ I use it to trash talk for fun. But from a fan perspective, it’s amazing. It’s an honor. Even coming into the league, I never would’ve imagined that. I watched his game. I studied the 70s, 80s and 90s of basketball. And to pass these guys is incredible.

You ever watch Adrian Dantley? He’s about 1,400 points ahead of you and currently 31^st.

Yes. I love his game. That’s where my appreciation for the game comes from, all these guys who came before me. I never take my love for the game for granted.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Chicago Bulls improved to 2-2 with a 112-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Here are 10 observations from the victory:

—The Bulls are now 17-9 when Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine each score 20 or more points in the same game. Unlike the overtime victory over Toronto, in which DeRozan played hero ball offensively and Alex Caruso used his defensive magic, this victory had the feel of more staying power. Though the Bulls attempted a season-low 17 3-pointers, coach Billy Donovan said he saw improvements in what he wants to see stylistically from the Bulls’ offense—quick decisions, getting downhill and more paint attacks.

“I think we tried to play to that identity for the whole game,” Donovan said. “In the last six to eight minutes, you’re going to start really looking at matchups. But I thought we tried to move the ball.”

—Vucevic finished with 24 points, 17 rebounds and three assists on 10-for-19 shooting and could’ve scored more if he hadn’t uncharacteristically missed some close-in looks.

“My teammates did a really good job of trying to find me,” Vucevic said.

—Donovan felt the game was the best example to date on the young season of quick decision-making and equal-opportunity offense.

“There’s enough for everybody to eat,” Donovan said.

—The Bulls only assisted on 19 of 40 field goals but that mostly was a result of missed shots after a several-pass possession.

“I didn’t feel like the ball stuck. Even if there was a possession where there wasn’t a lot of passes, it was decisive. The minute we start holding the ball and start sizing guys up, the floor shrinks, everybody is in help and it’s really hard to play like that,” Donovan said. “You can have possessions like that but can’t maintain it.”

DeRozan took 19 shots and LaVine finished with 17. The Bulls also repeatedly attacked the basket down the stretch, with DeRozan taking advantage of a matchup with Tyrese Haliburton to either score of drive and dish to Vucevic for a layup. LaVine also had a driving layup in this stretch.

“We were more patient reading what they were doing defensively,” Vucevic said. “We attacked certain matchups and attacked the paint. We didn’t shoot the ball extremely well but we stuck with it and kept attacking the paint. Now it’s: Are we going to do it consistently?”

—The Bulls continue to produce on the offensive glass, a weakness last season. They finished with 10 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points. Vucevic did the most damage, with Andre Drummond and Torrey Craig chipping in as well. Before the game, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who coached Craig, called him “an elite offensive rebounder.” Craig took a blow to his face and eye from Bennedict Mathurin and wore an ice pack down the stretch of the extremely physical game, which also featured a minor skirmish between Zach LaVine and several Pacers when they trapped LaVine physically late. LaVine drew a technical foul.

—Coby White recorded a steal and sank a 3-pointer just 19 seconds after tipoff after not scoring last game. He also briefly left the game and bench area in the third quarter after taking a strong blow from Aaron Nesmith on a drive while trying to take a charge. White had taken a charge earlier in the game and has played well defensively in the early going of this season.

—Donovan played Jevon Carter a season-high 18 minutes and Carter responded with his first double-digit scoring output of the young season. He also teamed with Ayo Dosunmu to make a huge defensive play early in the fourth. First, Dosunmu blocked Myles Turner as he rose for an apparent dunk. After Turner gathered the loose ball, Carter stripped him on his way up for his next attempt, leading to a LaVine layup in transition.

—Donovan kept Patrick Williams on longer for his first rotational stint. After going scoreless last game and barely playing in the fourth quarter of the last two games, Williams played the first 8 minutes, 55 seconds. He packed plenty into that first stint. The good? Two strong drives, including one make, with two rebounds, a steal and a block. The bad? Gave up an offensive rebound to Obi Toppin, had a shot blocked and allowed two straight line drives, although one came when he slipped on a wet spot.

Williams finished with nine points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. Alex Caruso closed again.

“I thought he played well. His energy was much better. He was aggressive. He tried to get downhill. He was active on the glass,” Donovan said. “As the game was unfolding, probably right now I’m closing with Alex experience-wise.”

—Donovan went back to using DeRozan as the starter “staggered” to play with the second unit. He has done it now twice with LaVine and twice with DeRozan. Donovan said he may continue alternating throughout the upcoming games.

—DeRozan and Craig shared a laugh following the morning shootaround when DeRozan lightheartedly tried to recreate the one-legged, game-winning 3-pointer he sank over Craig on 2021 New Year’s Eve in this building. Craig had hounded DeRozan much of the game and DeRozan shot 7-for-23 before his heroics. “What’d you shoot that game?” Craig asked. “We won,” DeRozan countered with a smile.

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The Chicago Bulls picked up the third-year option on guard Dalen Terry’s contract, according to the team’s public and media relations staff.

The Bulls faced a Tuesday deadline to do so and, apparently, informed Terry and his representative well in advance of that date.

It’s more common than not that such options are exercised, although Terry, the Bulls’ 2022 first-round pick, has had a hard time finding playing time. On Monday, the Bulls sent Terry to the Windy City Bulls of the G League. And coach Billy Donovan offered an assessment of Terry’s game.

Donovan also detailed where he thinks Terry’s game is at currently.

“He’s really a good open-floor player. He has good size, good vision and good passing skills,” Donovan said. “But with the way our team is right now, there aren’t many opportunities for him to do that. And we need to help him play to his strengths.

“His shooting will get better. I think everybody knows that’s an area he has to improve. But the biggest thing to me for him is he plays with such a motor and energy and is a competitor, he has got to be more detailed defensively, whether it’s blocking out, pick-and-roll coverages, whatever it may be.”

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Chicago Bulls assigned second-year guard Dalen Terry to Windy City of the G League on Monday.

Terry has played just five mop-up minutes this season and 219 overall since management selected him 18th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The Bulls often send non-rotational young players to the G League for practice reps and/or game experience, but it’s notable that second-round pick and rookie Julian Phillips remained with the team in advance of Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.

“They started training camp (Monday) so with where the opportunity to play (with us) is at and the number of bodies we have, getting him started there with those guys and getting practice and scrimmages in is beneficial,” coach Billy Donovan said. “They have a pretty short training camp before they start playing some games. I think that’s what he needs.

“It’s great he’s with us at times. But I don’t know if we want to keep him with us if he’s not going to be in the rotation.”

Asked if that meant a potentially longer G League stint, Donovan said it would be based on the schedule and travel. For instance, the Bulls took Sunday off following a back-to-back set of games and will only practice for a short time on Tuesday in Dallas. With Windy City, Terry can get more reps.

“I think it’s a fine line because there is value when he isn’t playing and he’s here to sit there and see and watch and observe and be in shootarounds,” Donovan said. “But the overall best benefit is him just playing.”

Donovan also detailed where he thinks Terry’s game is at currently.

“He’s really a good open-floor player. He has good size, good vision and good passing skills,” Donovan said. “But with the way our team is right now, there aren’t many opportunities for him to do that. And we need to help him play to his strengths.

“His shooting will get better. I think everybody knows that’s an area he has to improve. But the biggest thing to me for him is he plays with such a motor and energy and is a competitor, he has got to be more detailed defensively, whether it’s blocking out, pick-and-roll coverages, whatever it may be.”

The Bulls face a Tuesday deadline to exercise a $3.5 million third-year option on Terry’s contract. It’s rare when a first-round pick doesn’t have his third-year option picked up and doing so could give the Bulls a small contract to aggregate in a trade through next season at the very least.

Stay tuned.

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In the Chicago Bulls’ first three games, Patrick Williams has played a combined 9 minutes, 35 seconds of the 41 minutes spanning fourth quarters and one overtime session.

So the fourth-year forward may be starting—for now. But he’s not finishing.

Williams avoided missing his second straight entire fourth quarter on Saturday—he also sat out all of Friday’s overtime session too—when he checked back in for 71 seconds of mop-up time in the loss to the Pistons.

“I play where I play. I’m not in charge of where I play or when I play. We have a team full of guys who can play different positions,” Williams said. “At the 4 spot, me, AC (Alex Caruso), TC (Torrey Craig), we all play in different lineups and I think that’s a strength we have. I think we can all play with whoever is out there. And I think that’s a strength of ours.”

Will Billy Donovan utilize that strength by changing the starting lineup just four games into the season on Monday when the Bulls face the hot Indiana Pacers on the road? Donovan fielded questions on both Friday and Saturday about Williams’ starting status, emphasizing that any such decision would be as reflective of the group’s impact as Williams’ early struggles.

After failing to score in 21 minutes on Saturday, Williams is averaging 3.7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.7 steals in 21.7 minutes while shooting 27.8 percent, including 11.1 percent from 3-point range.

“I think I’m at where we’re all at, trying to find a rhythm, trying to find what works and what doesn’t, taking what we see, watching film on it and learning from it,” Williams said. “Obviously, three games in, we’ve learned a lot already.”

Last season, Williams and the Bulls enjoyed some success when Donovan inserted Caruso into the starting lineup after the All-Star break and moved Williams to the second unit. Williams found chemistry with Coby White, who is also now starting, and, in general, played more freely and aggressively.

He shot 50 percent, including 45.3 percent from 3-point range, in those 17 reserve appearances and averaged 9.7 points in 24.9 minutes, only slightly below his 10.3 points-per-game average in more minutes (29.2) as a starter.

A similar move to the bench wouldn’t be surprising, and Donovan admitted the starting lineup is a fluid situation that he and his staff are monitoring.

“This is a guy who is 22, and I’m not using his age as an excuse, but he’s got a pretty long runway to continue to get better.

“Everybody’s course is different, and I try to understand that. But at the same point, we’re still trying to coach him and help him understand how he can impact the game.’’

Last week, the Bulls and Williams failed to reach terms on a rookie contract extension. The talks didn’t come close to bridging a significant gap, which sources placed at between $4.5-$6 million annually in the fluid negotiations.

When that deadline passed without a deal, Williams insisted he’d be able to put the business of basketball behind him and focus on the season. On Saturday, he insisted he’s succeeding.

“100 percent. I’m not thinking about contracts at all. I’m thinking about winning,” Williams said. “Obviously, we’re not shooting the ball extremely well but still being confident enough to take those shots and knowing what shots to take.”

Williams is a career 40.8 percent 3-point shooter, so the organization is expecting his poor start from that distance to change. The question is: Does it change as a starter or reserve?

“He’s going to be alright. Everything is a learning experience,” DeMar DeRozan said. “I never stop talking to him—if he’s playing well, if he’s playing bad, if he’s struggling or thinking too much. I look at him like a little brother and I express to him how much a journey playing in the NBA really is. He gotta learn from it. He stays ready. He works his butt off. I know all the stuff he does behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t get a chance to see. Once it clicks for him, he’ll be fine.”

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