Observations: Markkanen drops 30, Bulls stave off Knicks

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The Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak with a 110-102 victory over the New York Knicks at the United Center on Monday night.

Here's what stood out:

Ball movement matters

Billy Donovan called for the Bulls’ first timeout at the 11:10 mark of the first quarter; the team’s first two offensive possessions featured unsightly turnovers from Coby White and Lauri Markkanen, and the Bulls coach needed to talk things over.

"You just don't want to start the game like that. You prepare for a team and you come out with a couple turnovers, not locked in, not boxing out, not being physical," LaVine said of the Donovan timeout, which the Bulls coach said he called because of two sloppy turnovers, a blown pick-and-roll coverage and invisible boxing out of Mitchell Robinson on the offensive glass in the game's opening minute. "I thought it was a great timeout by him, and he let us talk it out, he didn't really say anything."

The script flipped from there. Against a physical, Tom Thibodeau-coached defense that entered the night seventh in defensive rating, the Bulls generated good offense for the majority of the evening.

Some numbers that sum up the type of crisp ball movement the hosts played with: The Bulls assisted on all 11 of their field goals in the first quarter -- after which they led 32-27, shooting 57.9 percent from the floor -- and their first 14 made shots overall. At the half, they had 20 assists on 23 made field goals, shooting 54.8 percent.

Though they struggled from behind the 3-point arc all night -- finishing 11-for-34 -- they ended with 30 dimes, their sixth game this season reaching that threshold.

And, better yet: The Bulls finished the game with 12 turnovers after committing three in the game’s first three minutes. All five Bulls starters, plus Thad Young, scored in double figures.

Lauri stays on the mark

Lauri Markkanen was about as assertive as you could script on the offensive end in this one. Through one quarter, he led all scorers with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting (2-for-3 from 3-point range). The jumper was dead-eye, but the buckets -- and free-throw attempts --  he found off decisive drives and cuts were most encouraging (he even notched a drive-and-kick assist to Young).

By halftime, Markkanen had tied his career high for points in a half with 23, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. His long-range marksmanship leapt off the screen in the second. Those 11 shot attempts were tied with Julius Randle for a game high at that point -- another marker of increased offensive aggressiveness.

"His aggression on both ends of the court," said Coby White. "He's not just picking and popping. He's putting the ball on the floor, getting to the basket, getting to the free throw line, getting and ones, creating for others, getting downhill. His overall aggressiveness. When Lauri is aggressive, he cant be stopped."

The second half opened with a splashed pick-and-pop 3 off a feed from Zach LaVine. Music to Bulls' fans ears. So was this unicorn-ish fastbreak feed from Markkanen to LaVine:

Markkanen finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. That he went scoreless in a tense fourth quarter (0-for-2 from the floor) and coughed up 4 turnovers are footnotes given the game's result.

Bears repeating: Markkanen scored between 20-29 points eight times and over 30 twice in 50 appearances last season. This year: Four outings between 20-29 points, two over 30 in 12 games. Monday marked his second straight 30-point outing. He's looking rejuvenated, playing, of course, in a contract year.

"Obviously we all understand his situation," LaVine said. "He's going out there proving what he's worth. And we like that chip on his shoulder."

Thad Young Triple-Double Watch: A Nightly Occurrence

For the third straight contest, Triple Double Watch began early for Thad Young, and persisted throughout.

In eight first quarter minutes, the Bulls’ wily forward posted 7 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. By the half, he was up to 9 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. His picking out of cutters and 3-point shooters facilitating out of the pocket continues to shine. Brightly.

Young fell short of the triple-double mantle once again, but still finished with an impactful line of 13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 31 minutes. Donovan trusted him with high-leverage minutes even as he endured foul trouble in the second half, and he delivered with steadiness.

"He's been amazing," Donovan said. "He's an unbelievable facilitator, and he's got great vision... When he's involved, the ball movement ends up being really, really good in terms of spraying around, moving and cutting."

In his last three games, Young is averaging 12.3, points, 9.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists.

"Damn, I can't get this triple-double," he chided on the postgame broadcast.

Young has now played in 980 career games without reaching that benchmark. Whether or not that comes to fruition soon, he continues to be a revelation off the pine.

Knicks physicality kept them alive

After two quarters, the Knicks were shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor, but only trailed by four points. Their bruising style helped them hang around, as they pulled down 8 offensive rebounds (converting 6 second-chance points) and made 18 trips to the free-throw line (making 17) in the first half.

That persisted in the second. Following a Bulls blaze out of the halftime break, the Knicks clawed back to at one point grab a one-point lead with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls outshot the Knicks by wide margins from the floor and 3, but the Knicks' 22-for-26 mark from the charity stripe and 11 offensive rebounds served as solace for the visitors.

Notable nibbles

  • Coby White made a handful of nice reads to the tune of 6 assists in this one. He also committed 4 turnovers and looked a tad out of control with the ball in his hands at times. He also hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game, a catch-and-shoot 3 in the corner to give the Bulls a 103-100 lead with 42.4 seconds to play. His up-and-down education continues.
  • Daniel Gafford looked his energetic self, something that hasn't been common since his transition to the starting lineup. He played 22 minutes, scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds, including 4 impactful offensive boards. Though scarce second-half minutes have lately been a theme, he played some crucial ticks in the fourth.
  • Despite persistent prodding by the Knicks, the Bulls closed this one out, aided massively by 10 fourth-quarter points from LaVine. After the crusher at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, a much-needed result -- for their late-game confidence and to continue a trend of resiliency after gut-punch defeats.

Next up: Stay right where you are for another matchup with the Knicks in Chicago on Wednesday.

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