Starting Line-ups
Kings
- Luther Head
- Tyreke Evans
- Donté Greene
- Carl Landry
- Samuel Dalembert
Reserves: Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia, DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson, Omri Casspi, Darnell Jackson, Pooh Jeter.
Inactives: Hassan Whiteside, Antoine Wright.
Bulls
- Derrick Rose
- Keith Bogans
- Luol Deng
- Taj Gibson
- Joakim Noah
Reserves: CJ Watson, Ronny Brewer, Omer Asik, James Johnson, Kyle Korver, John Lucas, Kurt Thomas.
First Quarter Recap
The Kings looked like a different team tonight in the first quarter. Tyreke Evans came out extremely aggressive, taking the ball right at the teeth of the Bulls defense. He missed a couple of lay-ups, but the effort was there. The aggressive play of the Kings landed the Bulls in the penalty at the 6:44 mark. Derrick Rose looked unstoppable early, scoring the Bulls first eight points of the game. Carl Landry entered the game with a little less than four minutes remaining in the first. Landry overslept and missed shoot-around, so Kings third year power forward Jason Thompson started in his place. At the break, the Kings led by seven point on the strong back of Tyreke Evans.
Kings 28 Bulls 21
Leaders
Kings- Evans (11) Points; Greene (4) Rebounds; Evans (2) Assists.
Bulls- Rose (12) Points; Noah/Korver (3) Rebounds; Deng/Rose (2) Assists.
Second Quarter Recap
The Bulls started the quarter on a five-zero run, but the Kings seemed to have the answer every time the Bulls pulled close. By the 3:07 mark of the quarter, the Kings led 52-37 on the extremely strong play of Jason Thompson, who not only had nine points in the second, but added four assists and three rebounds. In a shocking turn of events, the Kings went into the half with a thirteen point lead. After being limited to two first quarter assists, the Kings tallied ten in the second and only one turnover. Through two quarters, Coach Paul Westphal seemed to have found his offense/defense balance.
Kings 57 Bulls 44
Leaders
Kings- Evans (13) Points; Thompson (5) Rebounds; Evans (6) Assists.
Bulls- Rose (16) Points; Brewer (8) Rebounds; Rose (4) Assists.
Team Kings Bulls
FG% 48.8% 46.2%
Rebounds 24 22
Assists/TO 12/2 12/6
Third Quarter Recap
The Bulls came out charging in the third, but the Kings seemed to have the answers early. Meet JASON THOMPSON everybody. The Kings big man was all over the floor, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and scoring from both inside and outside. Around the three minute mark of the quarter, Coach Westphal went to the bench, summonsing both Beno Udrih and Carl Landry. The Bulls instantly cut the lead to six and finished the quarter down only seven. On a shocking and fun side note, a fan buried the half court shot to win a car.
Kings 76 Bulls 69
Leaders
Kings- Thompson (18) Points; Greene/Thompson (7) Rebounds; Evans (8) Assists.
Bulls- Rose (22) Points; Brewer (8) Rebounds; Rose (6) Assists.
Fourth Quarter Recap
The Bulls kept coming at the Kings and at the 9:05 mark of the fourth, Derrick Rose stepped to the line and gave the Bulls a 78-76 lead. The Kings fired back with a five-zero run to take an 81-78 lead at the 7:30 mark in a back and forth affair. Tied at 83 apiece, Tyreke Evans got called for a crucial offensive foul on a wide open fast break when he waited too long to hit Omri Casspi under the basket. The foul was the Kings fourteenth turnover of the second half after only turning it over twice in the first twenty-four minutes. The Kings fell apart down the stretch, scoring just nine fourth quarter points to the Bulls twenty-seven. The Kings lost by eleven in a game that might sting more than the previous three losses combined.
Kings Lose!
Kings 85 Bulls 96
Leaders
Kings- Thompson (18) Points; Thompson (9) Rebounds; Evans (9) Assists.
Bulls- Rose (30) Points; Brewer (10) Rebounds; Rose (7) Assists.
Team Kings Bulls
FG% 40.7% 42.9%
Rebounds 43 44
Assists/TO 21/15 23/12
Player of the Game: Derrick Rose. The Bulls leader killed the Kings off the dribble, scoring 30 points on 10-23 shooting and dishing out 7 assists. Defensively, Rose did a solid job of staying in front of both Head and Udrih, limiting the tandem to just 8 points on 3-11 shooting.
The Difference Maker: Jason Thompson. The Kings big man got the start in place of the tardy Carl Landry and boy did he rise to the occasion. Thompson finished the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in 33 minutes of play. With Thompson filling in so well, Coach Paul Westphal may need to rethink his starting line-up. Thompson has started a total of 115 games in his 2+ years in the league and seems much more comfortable in that role. At 4-11, there is still much to figure out with this young Kings team, but Jason Thompson getting a few more minutes seems like a must. Here’s to small sample sizes.
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