At 9:00 a.m. Beijing time on December 13, the NBA regular season matchup is in full swing, with the Chicago Bulls sitting at home and facing the Denver Nuggets. Prior to this game, the Nuggets were ranked 4th in the West with a 15-9 record, and they have been in average form with 1 win and 3 losses in their last 4 games. As the defending champions, the Nuggets' dominance this season seems to be not so strong, Jokic's offensive efficiency is declining, his shooting percentage is 10 percentage points lower than last season, and his three-point shooting percentage is 8 percentage points lower than last season, Murray is plagued by injuries, and Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, two major rotation giants, also left this summer offseason. With the strong rise of the major dark horse teams this season, the Nuggets still want to defend their title, I'm afraid it won't be so easy.
On the other side, the Bulls, before this game, were 9-15 and ranked 12th in the East. The Bulls started the season in a mess and have been in the bottom of the East, and the team has started rebuilding mode, reporter Shams Charania said that the Bulls are starting to peddle LaVine, the Lakers and 76ers are expected to be LaVine's suitors, and DeRozan could also be traded. To be honest, the Bulls' mediocre performance in recent seasons is the biggest reason for LaVine, LaVine is indeed difficult to be qualified for the team's responsibilities, the past 5 games, LaVine has been absent, and the Bulls actually achieved a 4-1 record, DeRozan blasted 41 points and 11 assists in the last game, becoming the first player in team history since Michael Jordan to score at least 40 points and 10 assists in a single game.
In this game, the two sides are in the starting lineup, the Bulls sent DeRozan, White, Vucevic, Williams and Dosunmu, and the Nuggets sent Jokic, Porter Jr., Reggie Jackson, Gordon and Pope on the side. At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, Jokic jumped the ball to win, the Nuggets took the lead in getting the ball, Reggie hit a three-shot shot at a 45-degree angle and scored the first goal of the game, Pope also had an open mid-range shot, White flew through the layup and opened for the Bulls, Gordon and Porter Jr. scored 4 points in a row, and the Nuggets took the lead and started with an 11-2 offensive wave. Vucevic used his dream footwork to shake off the defensive layup and help the Bulls stop the bleeding in time, Braun was confident that the three-pointer blossomed directly, and Jokic broke through the toss to pick up two points.
The Nuggets still maintained a slight lead, Reggie also hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner, and DeRozan made a layup and hit both free throws from the free throw line. At the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets led the Bulls by seven points at 32-25. At the beginning of the second quarter of the game, White flanked three points ** to help the Bulls take the lead, DeRozan broke through the layup with the ball and scored two points, Reggie also hit a three-point shot at the top of the arc, Jordan Jr. took off and dunked in the air, DeRozan played high inside, causing damage, standing on the free throw line and making two free throws, Vucevic broke up on the spot to make a basket and scored, Vucevic turned his back and made a layup easily, Jokey passed Braun wonderfully, and the latter cut the basket and wiped the board. In the middle of the second quarter, Joshua complained about the referee during an offensive round and was ejected outright, which was also his second ejection this season.
Although Jokic was ejected and Murray was sidelined, the Nuggets still maintained a slight lead. At halftime, the Nuggets led the Bulls by five points at 57-52. At the beginning of the second half of the game, Yibian fought again, Vucevic picked up the basket smartly, opening the third quarter of the game, White's large three-shot cannon pierced the heart, Dosum's forced breakthrough layup and scored a goal, Porter Jr.'s 45-degree angle three-shot shot was entering the center of the net, the Nuggets became more and more courageous, once took a lead of about 15 points, DeRozan stepped back and pulled a two-point jumper into the bag, helping the Bulls stop the bleeding a little, Craig flew and threw two points, Carter ambushed in the bottom corner, and shot a bow and arrow outside the three-point line to pierce Yang, Jordan Jr. held his feet high inside to make a kill, made two free throws from the free throw line, and after three quarters, the Nuggets led the Bulls by 14 points at 92-78.
In the final quarter, both sides increased their physical confrontation, the defensive intensity gradually increased, and the foul whistle continued. Although Vucevic and White helped the team close the margin to single digits several times, the Nuggets were able to hold their ground, always maintaining a 10-point advantage, and the game lost suspense as time went on, and in the end, the Nuggets defeated the Bulls 114-106.
In terms of statistics, on the Nuggets' side, Jokic was ejected with 4 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and Michael Porter had 17 points and 7 rebounds; Julian Strauser 16 points and 6 rebounds; Aaron Gordon 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists; Reggie Jackson 25 points and 6 assists; Christian Braun 13 points; DeAndre Jordan had 9 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. On the Bulls' side, DeMar DeRozan had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks; Coby White 27 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists; Nikola Vucevic 26 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks; Ayo Dosunm 9 points; Andre Drummond had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Hundreds of spectators