Bulls put up a season-high 134 points, after standing pat at deadline

Bulls coach Billy Donovan and his front office “likes this group.”

That was the attitude going into Thursday’s trade deadline, and coming out without a move all they did was double-down on it.

In a complete dismantling of the Timberwolves on Friday night, maybe Donovan & Co. were on to something.

Thanks to a 35-point night from All-Star DeMar DeRozan, as well as Nikola Vucevic chipping in with 26, the Bulls (35-21) put up a 42-point fourth quarter to run away from the visiting team in a season-high fashion, beating Minnesota 134-122.

That’s why there wasn’t much stress coming out of the idea that while teams in the Eastern Conference like Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Cleveland made significant trades, the Bulls chose to stand pat.

“When we get healthy and we do we do what we supposed to do, I don’t see anybody better than us in the East,” All-Star guard Zach LaVine told reporters, when asked about the quiet deadline for his team. “That’s just my opinion. Competition-wise, you step on the line, you go throw the ball up, I don’t think anybody’s better than us.”

Donovan wasn’t going to be as bold, but again, felt OK with the idea of working on getting the likes of Patrick Williams (wrist surgery), Lonzo Ball (knee surgery) and Alex Caruso (wrist surgery) back on the court, and along the way if a buyout candidate presents himself go ahead and grab him.

“If there’s something that can help us, certainly I think [executive vice president of basketball operations] Arturas [Karnisovas] will do his job … the player piece of it will be how does a player fit here? Is the player comfortable in that role? You want it to be a good chemistry piece for your team,” Donovan said, speaking for the first time since the deadline.

That’s on Karnisovas and the front office to worry about right now.

Donovan has the Xs and Os to stress over, and making sure he can keep the healthy bodies up and running until help arrives.

That starts with LaVine, who looked to be dealing with a banged up body on his way to going 5-for-14 from the field for just 12 points.

“I just think this time of year I don’t feel anybody is feeling probably great,” Donovan said of LaVine. “He’s had to deal with his knee, he’s had to deal with his back. It’s a lot right now. We’ll have to work through this with him right now.”

That means meeting with LaVine before Saturday’s back-to-back with Oklahoma City and seeing if he needs a night to heal up a bit.

What didn’t need healing? The rest of the offense around LaVine, as the Bulls also shot a season-best 63.2% (55-for-87) from the field, getting contributions from Javonte Green and his 23 points, as well as Coby White coming off the bench for 22.

The Bulls also finished with 32 assists, and even out-rebounded the Timberwolves 43-32.

Then there was rookie Ayo Dosunmu, fresh out of the concussion protocol, scoring 14 points and handing out 10 assists.

“I felt good [Friday night],” Dosunmu said of the quick recovery. “We have so many great players on our team. It’s kind of my job to put guys into position to be successful. [Friday] was just an example of how we have guys that can play at a high level.

“When you’re all built for one common goal – to win and play for each other – that’s when it makes it easier on a coaching staff of who they can plug in. When you have guys [injured], other guys can step up and compete.”

Read More