Winning streaks haven’t been easy to come by for the Bulls this season. Before Monday, they had just one that extended past two games — in December.
That changed Monday night at the United Center when, led by the backcourt tandem of Coby White and Josh Giddey, they controlled the Pacers from the moment the ball was tipped. White and Giddey finished with a game-high 29 points each in a 121-103 victory that gave the Bulls three wins in a row.
“We came in with a level of focus and the level of physicality that we needed for this game,” White said.
Giddey, who continued his streak of strong play since the All-Star break, ended the night on a sour note, limping off the court and back to the locker room after rolling his right ankle with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“Sprained ankle,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I probably won’t know how severe it is until a day or two.”
It’s the same ankle Giddey injured earlier in the season, raising additional concern.
Before the game, Donovan spoke at length about the partnership White and Giddey have established on the court late in the season. Getting to know each other’s tendencies took time and communication.
“The more you’re out there with somebody on a regular basis, the more things you go through — you see people at their best and you see them at their worst,” Donovan said. “You see them frustrated. You see them excited. You see a lot with them. Then you learn how to work with each other.”
White’s impact since the Bulls traded Zach LaVine to the Kings last month has been especially noteworthy. He was averaging 20.4 points and 4.1 assists since entering Monday.
“I’d have to say he’s more aggressive,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Forty-four points the other night, right? And then the Miami game, he didn’t have a particularly great night, and he just kept attacking, attacking, attacking and made big plays at the end. I’m not sure why he’s not mentioned much for most improved.”
Last year, White finished second behind the 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey for the NBA Most Improved Player Award. This year, the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham is the favorite.
The next game after his career-best night against the Magic last week, White was scoreless from three-point range, but his response caught Donovan’s attention.
“It didn’t impact him competing in the game,” Donovan said. “He found different ways to help the group, and he got the rim more. . . . It’s always easy to lead when you score 44 points. How you lead when you go 0-for-8 and it’s not going well offensively for you, that’s been the encouraging piece to me.”
In Tyrese Haliburton’s absence, the Pacers were adrift. Center Myles Turner led them with 15 points, and forward Pascal Siakam added 13. As a team, the Pacers shot 39.6% from the field and 25% from three-point range.
With center Nikola Vucevic and forward Patrick Williams playing limited minutes, Donovan started Zach Collins, but he ended up playing just nine minutes in the first half.
Vucevic logged 24 minutes and finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Williams, however, struggled, playing just 11 minutes despite Donovan saying he would be maxed at 24. Collins closed the game with Vucevic and Williams on the bench.
“I thought [Vucevic] found a rhythm offensively,” Donovan said. “I didn’t start him because the minutes were between 24 and 28.
“For [Williams,] he was trying to be aggressive and find his way. He just looked a little bit rusty to me.”