OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Chicago Bulls' seven-game road win streak came to a crushing halt Sunday afternoon when the Oklahoma City drilled them 92-78.
Russell Westbrook scored 27 points and Kevin Durant added 26 as the Thunder led by as many as 30.
The Bulls set season-low for field-goal percentage at 33 percent.
The Bulls again were without Derrick Rose, out with his groin injury, and Richard Hamilton. For the second straight game, Hamilton warmed up and told team personnel he is ready to play. But Thibodeau decided to sit him for the 14th straight game.
"I just have to be convinced," Thibodeau said. "It's more me. He thinks he's ready. But I just want to make sure we're smart."
In a mild surprise, Kyle Korver started for Ronnie Brewer at shooting guard. The move was for matchups so that Brewer could guard James Harden coming off the bench. Korver scored 14 as one of two Bulls in double figures.
John Lucas III scored 19 to lead them.
The Bulls pulled within 43-39 late in the half before missing their final four shots, surrendering a 6-0 run. The Thunder then extended the run to 21-2 as the Bulls managed two points in 7 minutes, 33 seconds.
Before the blowout, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said the Bulls still pose a formidable test.
"They're willing defenders who have a lot of pride in what they do," Brooks said. "They protect the paint. They fight through screens as well as any team in the league. And they keep coming at you. They play so hard. If you don't match that, you're not going to look good."
kcjohnson@tribune.com
Twitter @kcjhoop
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
No comments:
Post a Comment