Just when it looked like the Bulls might be turning a corner, Sunday’s loss to the Pelicans brought them crashing back to reality.
After a gritty comeback win over the Hornets on Friday night, Chicago had a chance to build some momentum. Instead, they dropped their eighth game in the last nine outings, falling 114-104 to a Pelicans team that entered the night with just four wins on the season. The Bulls, who started the year 5-0, now sit at 10-15 - tied for 10th in the East - and have lost twice to the Western Conference’s bottom-dwellers.
This one slipped away in the fourth quarter. The Bulls entered the final frame down by just one but were outscored 38-29 in the period.
New Orleans turned up the pressure, forcing seven turnovers in the final 12 minutes and capitalizing on nearly every one of them. It was the Pelicans’ highest-scoring quarter of the game, and it came at the worst possible time for a Chicago team desperate for stability.
Trey Murphy III led the way with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, setting the tone with energy on both ends. Rookie point guard Jeremiah Fears made his presence felt inside, slicing through Chicago’s defense en route to 20 points. Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole added 18 and 16 points off the bench, giving New Orleans a spark when it needed it most.
For the Bulls, Coby White tried to shoulder the load. He finished with a team-high 20 points, along with five rebounds and five assists, but struggled from deep - hitting just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. That was a theme for the night: Chicago shot just 9-of-41 from three, and if you take out Kevin Huerter’s 4-of-8 performance in his return from a pelvis injury, the rest of the team combined to go 5-for-33.
Nikola Vucevic, who was benched late in Friday’s win, got plenty of touches early. The Bulls made a clear effort to get him going, but the shots just weren’t falling.
He shot 1-of-7 in the first quarter and finished 5-of-16 for 12 points. To his credit, Vucevic stayed active on the glass, pulling down six first-quarter rebounds - four of them offensive - as Chicago extended possessions with hustle plays.
Patrick Williams knocked down a pair of threes to help Chicago take a 26-21 lead after one, but the second quarter told a different story. The Bulls were shut out on the offensive glass, and New Orleans flipped a five-point deficit into a five-point halftime lead by dominating the boards and dictating the tempo.
The third quarter didn’t start any better for Chicago, which trailed by as many as 13. But to their credit, the Bulls didn’t fold. White and Josh Giddey sparked a 16-2 run late in the period to reclaim the lead - a brief flash of the fight this team has shown in spurts all season.
Still, it wasn’t enough. Two Jordan Poole free throws gave the Pelicans a one-point edge heading into the fourth, and they never looked back. Fears scored 10 of his 20 in the final frame, and New Orleans closed strong to seal the double-digit win.
The Bulls now turn their attention to a Wednesday night matchup at home against the Cavaliers - a chance to regroup, reset, and try once again to find some consistency in a season that’s been anything but steady.