Bulls close out Summer League with victory over Wizards |
LAS VEGAS - Looking to close out an up-and-down Summer League Season, the Chicago Bulls took on the Washington Wizards. Needing a win to finish the Summer with a 3-2 record, the Bulls continued to rely on a strong defense as all five of their opponents were held under 100 points.
Four of those five were held to under 90, including the Wizards on Saturday, as the Bulls battled to the final minute to pick up the 90-85 win and finished the Summer 3-2. It was a tale of two halves for Chicago, who not only trailed by five at the half but struggled to score. After coming away with just 13 points in the first quarter, Chicago only had 20 in the second, as they were down 38-33 at the break. Credit their defense for keeping things close when the offense struggled, as they knew they needed to pick things up offensively in the second half if they wanted a win. Outscoring your opponent by 11 in the third certainly helps, as the Bulls lockdown defense continued holding the Wizards to just 13 points while the offense went to work for 24. Then came the fourth quarter, when both teams suddenly figured out how to score, as a combined 67 points were scored in the final 10 minutes. 34 came from Washington, with 33 coming from Chicago as the Bulls used a massive second half to pick up the win. If you could give out a Summer League MVP for each team, Javon Freeman-Liberty would be the winner for Chicago. The second-year man out of DePaul spent last season in the G-League and emerged as a legitimate option this Summer. Freeman-Liberty dropped 20 points for the fourth consecutive game and led all scorers with 24 points. He pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists as he has shown he deserves a shot to make the roster this fall. Joining Freeman-Liberty when it came to big games was Dalen Terry, who picked the perfect time to have his breakout game. After struggling to shoot the ball all Summer, Terry was locked in as he connected for seven of his 10 shots while adding five rebounds and four assists. He also knocked down four triples, as that is the type of production the Bulls hope to get from him all season. Like most of the Summer, Chicago had four double-digit scorers, with three in the starting lineup. Adama Sanogo was the third and final starter to land in double figures as he dropped a summer league-high 15 points in the win. He added nine rebounds and is starting to show why the Bulls fell in love with him to sign him to a two-way deal. The final player to land in double figures came off the bench, with Yago Dos Santos earning that honor. Dos Santos not only added 13 points, but he continued to flash his long-range shooting ability as the Bulls did a great job knocking down the triple this Summer. For Washington they do have a quartet of double-digit scorers, but none of them surpassed the 20-point threshold. For them, Jules Bernard led the way as he came off the bench to drop 17 points. Bernard was one of only three players used on the bench in this one, as Washington closed out the Summer League by going with a smaller lineup. Regarding the starting five, no one overly stood out in terms of a dominating performance, but they still had three players put forth a solid game. Tristan Vukcevic had the best game of them all, as he not only finished with 15 points but also pulled down eight rebounds. He was joined by Donovan Williams and his 14 points, with DJ Stewart also adding 13 points in the loss. Chicago will head home to get back into the NBA offseason, where they look to round out their roster. After being granted a disabled waiver for Lonzo Ball, the Bulls will receive an additional 10 million dollars of cap space to work with, which will help them add more talent.
