CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Ahead of the Bulls’ matchup against the Mavericks on Saturday evening, coach Billy Donovan expressed a concern with his team coming off the high of a wild 119-117 win against the Lakers on Thursday on guard Josh Giddey’s half-court buzzer-beater.
“They’ve got to be able to handle the emotion,” Donovan said pregame. “That’s another part, I think, of the growth that we’ve got to make as a team. Because if at some point you do want to get to the playoffs, sometimes those playoff games can be really, really emotional from one game to the next and you’ve got to be able to flush those games and be able to refocus and raise your energy level and not have it zapped. Sometimes you can have heartbreaking losses or really, really emotional wins. It’s about how you come back off of that.
“We need to put that behind us and be able to move forward.”
Donovan’s worry turned out to be well-founded in his mind. The Bulls’ four-game winning streak was snapped with a 120-119 loss to the Mavericks at the United Center, where Chicago was sloppy with 19 turnovers and defensive miscues that hurt. Beyond that, Donovan thought the Bulls lacked their usual verve.
“I didn’t think we kind of had it tonight, to be quite honest, the pop that was there (before),” Donovan said. “I thought our guys were trying, but like to me, the carelessness with the turnovers, I thought that really impacted the game. I thought we got too deep into the lane. I thought we could’ve generated and manufactured better shots.
“I didn’t think it was a lack of effort there. It was just a game that was a struggle for us.”
The Mavericks led 89-87 entering the fourth quarter and gradually took full control by extending their lead to 114-102 with 2:55 left. As has been a trend lately, the Bulls responded with a barrage of late 3-pointers, but unlike Thursday, they didn’t have all the magic they needed.
Chicago had a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds after pulling within 118-115, but Dallas purposely fouled center Nikola Vucevic before the Bulls could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. Vucevic missed the first free throw before hitting the second with 8.6 seconds left, then Mavericks guard Klay Thompson sealed it with two free throws with 6.7 seconds left. That rendered Vucevic’s 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left meaningless.
Rookie forward Matas Buzelis led the Bulls with 28 points while adding nine rebounds and six assists, while Vucevic and guard Coby White had 25 points apiece.
“I felt like we were all like a step behind today for some reason,” Buzelis said. “We battled back, of course. We always do that. But if we start well and execute in the beginning, I don’t think anybody can beat us.”
With the loss, the Bulls dropped to 33-41 and are now tied for ninth in the East with the Heat. The Bulls are also 2.5 games behind the Hawks and Magic, who are tied for seventh place.
The ninth seed in the East will host the 10th seed in a win-or-go-home play-in game. The Bulls and the Heat will meet on April 9 in Chicago. The Bulls have already clinched the tiebreaker against the Heat should that come into play.
“We’re not looking into the future,” Buzelis said. “We’re in the moment.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.