Amid painful defeat, Markkanen's return a mixed bag

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just banked a layup through Coby White contact that, after a free throw, drew the Bulls' Friday night matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder level 118-118 with 16.4 seconds to play. 

An 18-point halftime lead that swelled to as many as 22 in the third quarter had evaporated. The Bulls had one possession to stave off a stupefying loss.

And the call was for Lauri Markkanen.

"We put Lauri and [Otto Porter Jr.] in pick-and-roll, and was really OP to make a read," said head coach Billy Donovan minutes after what turned into a 127-125 overtime defeat. "I think Lauri was open. I think that OP maybe didn't feel comfortable that the angle was maybe quite there."

Yes, in Markkanen's first game back from a seven-and-a-half game absence due first to a calf contusion, then to COVID-19 protocol (close contact), he could have played hero. But a Thunder trap of Porter forced the ball to Zach LaVine in the right corner as opposed to the slicing Markkanen, who for a split second had nothing but a scrambling George Hill between him and a seismic sigh of relief.

A contested LaVine 3 ensued, and clanked off iron. The rest... Went how it went.

LaVine and Donovan both said postgame that the primary read was for Markkanen. It's a brand of situation in which the third-year forward exuded confidence.

"I’m comfortable taking those shots. I’ve had those in the past too," he said. "I think we’re also looking for the hot guy who’s making shots at a certain time. I think we have multiple guys who can make the plays down the stretch. Today, it was Zach."

LaVine did catch fire for multiple stretches and ended with 35 points, though six turnovers loomed large. Markkanen's return was also a mixed bag. He notched 15 points and six rebounds in 35 minutes -- a mark he reached just seven times in 2019-20 -- while shooting 5-for-14 from the floor (3-for-9 from 3). Two timely 3s he hit to widen the Bulls' lead early in the fourth quarter matter naught, given the final result. Neither do his two blocks for a team that allowed 77 points between the second half and overtime.

"Personally, I felt pretty good. It’s obviously going to take a little while to get your legs back under you, but I felt fine," Markkanen said, before quickly pivoting to team turmoil. "Team-wise, we were up 20 and we started turning the ball over. They put some pressure on us in the back court when we were playing offense and I think our offensive physicality, we just got to be tougher with the ball."

Markkanen committed two of the Bulls' 24 turnovers, the second of which came on a moving screen that granted the Thunder the possession that ended in Gilgeous-Alexander's game-tying and-one.

“I’m part of it," he said of the turnover problem. "Before I had to go out, we were still turning the ball over back then. It’s been a common theme for us this year."

He also anchored the lineup that closed the final 1:47 of regulation for the Bulls, in which they ceded an 7-0 run -- which, in total, capped a 19-3 sprint over the final 4:40 -- that flipped the score from 118-111 to all square.

"We just got to learn how to win," Markkanen said.

Until they do, a sour taste should linger from this one. A squandered 22-point third-quarter lead, 16-point advantage with under five minutes left and 10-point margin with just over two to play make for an epic collapse.

The Bulls just need now to ensure it doesn't carry over.

"It’s been happening for a couple years now, and everybody is really frustrated about it," Markkanen said. "This one should hurt. It hurts everybody to lose a game like this. We just got to move forward and learn from this game and get better and get one from Dallas.”

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