That 5-1 start for the Bulls feels like a lifetime ago now.
Chicago’s rut continued with a seventh-straight loss at the hands of a depleted Warriors in a 123-91 blowout defeat at home on Monday (all times AEDT).
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And he might be turning 41 soon, but don’t write LeBron James off just yet …
James took over in the clutch in an epic bounce-back performance to lead the LA Lakers past the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bulls suffered their second-biggest loss of the campaign to fall to 9-13 overall, with Josh Giddey and company now clinging to their play-in spot in the Eastern Conference by half a game.
Their current losing streak of seven-straight losses — the longest active streak in the NBA — is particularly concerning.
Billy Donovan’s squad has won just three of its past 15 games including losses to the lowly-ranked Indiana and Brooklyn in its previous two outings.
“This is a tough stretch they’re on, this might be one of the worst stretches I’ve seen a team play,” Chicago commentator Stacey King said.
Fellow caller Wayne Randazzo added: “It really stings, because this was supposed to be the part of the schedule to fatten up. And it’s been the complete opposite, the whole balloon has deflated here based on these losses against teams at the bottom of the league.”
Giddey top scored for the hosts with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting with three rebounds and five assists.
Brandin Podziemski’s 21 points off the bench led the Warriors, who were still missing Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford.
However, Jimmy Butler had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in his return as the Warriors tied together consecutive road wins on a back-to-back after knocking off Cleveland on Sunday.
The Bulls have plenty of time to stew on this one, with the team not scheduled to play again until next Saturday in Charlotte ahead of a lighter NBA schedule in week eight due to the NBA Cup knockout-round matchups.
“This is a team that got off to a great start and couldn’t handle success. Once everybody started to figure you out and start to attack you, you weren’t ready for it. That’s what happens to you,” King said during the third quarter.
“Everybody was talking about the Bills and excited about the Bulls (saying): ‘The Bulls are back’. We all were excited about it.
“Remember, this is not a sprint. This is a marathon, it’s 82 games. They don’t give you a championship after six games. You’ve got to play the whole season.
“Winning made them feel good, but you’ve got to maintain that level of play every time you step on the court. How you got those first five wins, you’ve got to play another five games, and another five games.
“You’ve got to play with the same intensity every single night, you’ve got to play defence every single night. That’s the responsibility you have. You want to be a winning team and change the culture? Do those things, do the little things.”
The Bulls, down by as much as 20 midway through the third quarter, came to life late in the period in their best stretch.
A Giddey 3-pointer capped off a 11-0 run to get Chicago within 86-73, before Jevon Carter added another triple to cut the deficit to 10 as the crowd came to life at the United Centre.
The Bulls carried that momentum into the final stanza. A Carter fastbreak layup in the first minute of the fourth term got the Bulls within single digits at for the first time since the second quarter at 87-79.
But Golden State responded with an emphatic 21-2 run, led by eight points from Butler, to extend its lead to a game-high 27 at 108-81 with 6:31 remaining.
Billy Donovan emptied his bench with over four minutes left to waive the white flag on an ugly performance.
In Philadelphia, James scored 12 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and the Lakers outlasted the Sixers in a tight finish on the road 112-108.
Just days after his record-shattering streak of 1,297 straight double-digit scoring games ended, James came up big in the clutch with an epic fourth-quarter run of 10-straight points.
It was a timely reminder that James, who’s production has been well down across the board since missing the first 14 games of his record 23rd NBA season with a sciatica injury, still has it.
With the scores tied at 105-105 with 1:29 remaining, James buried a big 3-pointer followed by a deep jumper to give LA a five-point edge.
Tyrese Maxey responded with a phenomenal fadeaway triple to cut the lead to two with 7.6 seconds left and give Philly a glimmer of hope. But Luka Doncic sank a pair of free throws at the other end to ice the win.
James put up 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists in his best game of the season.
Meanwhile Doncic racked up a triple-double (31 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists), after missing the Lakers’ loss to Boston due to the birth of his second daughter, and LA improved to 17-6 overall.
Maxey’s 28 points led the way for the 13-10 Sixers and Joel Embiid added 16 on an inefficient 4-of-21 shooting display in his return.
ALL RESULTS
Magic 100 Knicks 106
Celtics 121 Raptors 113
Nuggets 115 Hornets 106
Trail Blazers 96 Grizzlies 119
Warriors 123 Bulls 91
Lakers 112 76ers 108
Thunder 131 Jazz 101
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