It's not about how you start; it's about how you finish. But unfortunately for the Bulls, how they started the second half of Saturday night's game against the Washington Wizards ultimately became too much for their strong finish to overcome.
Chicago led Washington at the half, 62-57, following a Caleb Wilson takeover to end the second quarter. The third quarter was a nightmare, though, just over 24 hours after the Bulls claimed their first win of the season against the Bucks. Tiago Splitter's squad shot just 7-of-23 from the field, turned the ball over five times, committed eight personal fouls and surrendered 40 points to their counterparts.
"We were very inconsistent with our coverages," Splitter said after the game. "Trae Young and AD [Anthony Davis], they're vets and they know how to manage the floor there, and they did a good job. Rebounding was a part of it. I thought that we didn't take the best shots that third quarter. I think we forced a couple, even in the paint, going against their bigs. We've got to be smarter. They had two bigs in the paint just sitting out there and not letting you shoot any layup, and we couldn't convert the three-point shots either."
At one point in the fourth, the Bulls trailed by as many as 21 points. But Splitter and his players did not wave the white flag. Chicago went small with Leonard Miller at the '5,' joining starters Wilson, Josh Giddey, Norman Powell and Matas Buzelis.
The lineup spawned a 16-4 run over just 2:18, cutting the Bulls' deficit to three points with less than 24 seconds on the game clock. Although the comeback eventually fell short and the Bulls lost, 124-120, the way that Chicago played to get back into the game provided an encouraging sign for a starting lineup that has largely struggled together this season.
"I feel like it shows that we have fight, but we put ourselves in that position," Wilson said. "I won't say I'd give myself a moral victory, but it's good for the character of the guys on our team."
Wilson, Giddey, Powell and Buzelis combined for 34 of the Bulls' 38 points in the fourth quarter and made five threes.
"It was good, but it's too late," Buzelis said. "The third quarter is very important in NBA basketball. It has to start from there, set the tone, and put teams away like that."
Neither Wilson nor Buzelis was satisfied with the result, but the fourth quarter marked a significant development in the seasons of both young forwards. Wilson finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, earning his first career double-double and scoring 11 points in the period to power Chicago.
Meanwhile, Buzelis was benched during the fourth quarter of Friday's 132-125 win in Milwaukee. The 22-year-old shot 4-of-17 from the field and 0-of-4 from deep during his first two games, and was also responsible for five turnovers and five personal fouls. That led to Splitter playing him zero fourth-quarter minutes against the Bucks.
But against Washington, Buzelis was a critical component of the Bulls' near fourth-quarter comeback. He nailed two crucial three-pointers and converted an and-one layup to score nine of his 21 points down the stretch.
There may not be such a thing as a moral victory for a contending team, but that's not what the Bulls are. Chicago is young, prone to mistakes and just three regular season games into a franchise rebuild. For Splitter's team, the fight the Bulls showed on Saturday night bodes well for a season that is more dependent on growth and development than wins.