Home Sport Zach LaVine had the best scoring game of his NBA career, the Chicago Bulls still lost

Zach LaVine had the best scoring game of his NBA career, the Chicago Bulls still lost

Sport — 10/29/2023

Zach LaVine had the best scoring game of his NBA career, the Chicago Bulls still lost

Zach LaVine had the best scoring game of his NBA career, but that wasn’t enough to help the Chicago Bulls win.
Jalen Duren had 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 118-102, despite Zach LaVine’s career-high 51 points.

Duren, who will turn 20 on November 18, said: “I felt really comfortable in my second season, but it wasn’t because of me. My teammates and coaches were makes me feel a lot easier.”

Duren’s double-double was the 22nd he has accomplished in his career, surpassing LeBron James to become the teenage player with the third most double-doubles in NBA/ABA history. Moses Malone had 50 and Dwight Howard hit 46.

The Pistons shot 60.5% to take a 57-45 lead after the first half of the game. LaVine had 19 points in the first half, but was scoreless in the second half. Detroit had a 25-12 advantage in points off the bench, with Burks and Marvin Bagley III each scoring nine points.

LaVine, making 19 of 32 shots in the game, scored 20 points in the third quarter. That was not enough for the Bulls to level the gap. Jaden Ivey’s buzzer-beater 3-pointer gave the Pistons an 84-77 lead.

Zach LaVine cannot help the Chicago Bulls win

The home team started the fourth quarter well with a 3-point play from Cade Cunningham, and then a long throw from Alec Burks to widen the gap to 13 points. LaVine scored 10 points to help the Bulls shorten the score to 89-95, but that was not enough.

Zach LaVine didn’t get enough help from his teammates to have better scoring streaks. Cunningham’s two free throws made it 109-97 with 2:30 left in the game and secured the victory for the Pistons.

LaVine’s career-high made him the first Bulls player to score 50 points without an assist since Michael Jordan did it against the Miami Heat on November 6, 1996.

On the other side, Cunningham added 25 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, who ended a 15-game losing streak against the Bulls, while Alec Burks contributed 18 points off the bench.