It Doesn't Add Up

Add it all up, and the Bulls should’ve suffered a crushing defeat in Portland last night. When Josh Giddey and Kevin Huerter, the starting backcourt, combine for eleven points and a 21-point, fourth-quarter lead turns into a four-point deficit with sixteen seconds left in the game, you should lose. But the Bulls didn’t. Instead, Coby White hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left to draw his team to 120-119. Then, Jerami Grant made only one of two free throws with eight seconds to go. After a timeout, the Bulls inbounded; White passed the ball to Nikola Vucevic in the corner; and Vucevic nailed the three-pointer as time expired. Bulls 122 Blazers 121. After the game, K.C. Johnson lobbed Vucevic a question about his team’s resiliency, and, give the big man credit, he didn’t bite. No, he said getting the win was nice, but he and his teammates had to find a way to close things out so heroics wouldn’t be necessary every night. Amen to that, Nikola. Still, I’ll take an 8-6 record with the roster close to reaching full strength with the expected returns of Zach Collins and Tre Jones. With those two healthy, the upcoming Christmas season could be merry, indeed.