Morning Box Score: Bulls Crash Hard in Golden State
By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 27, 2011 3:00PM
The NBA's shortened preseason means fans of the sport will have to sit through some sloppy play in the season's initial weeks. Sloppy play bit the Bulls in their collective ass last night as they ran into a Golden State squad that, under rookie head coach Mark Jackson, is looking to play the halfcourt offensive sets and stifling defense instilled in the Bulls under Tom Thibodeau.
The Bulls turned the ball over 20 times last night. Golden State tallied 11 steals in the first half and had the Bulls on their heels through much of the second quarter as they built a 57-41 halftime lead they never relinquished. Monta Ellis led all scorers with 26 points for the Warriors, while David Lee and Stephon Curry took advantage of the Bulls' cream puff frontcourt of Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah all night. Lee scored 22 points for Golden State, many of them seeming to come from alley oops from Curry, who had 10 assists to go with his 21 points.
Luol Deng led the Bulls with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Rose had 13 points and eight rebounds but was frustrated for much of the night by the Warriors' shifting defensive schemes. After the game, Thibodeau summed up his team's effort succinctly, according to Noah.
"He just said it was [bull]," Noah said. "And he's right."