CHICAGO Bulls halted their four-game losing streak following a 117-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) Season at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines).
Finnish Lauri Markkanen had 29 points and 10 rebounds while Garrett Temple scored 15 of his season-high 21 points in the second quarter as the Bulls completed their two-game season sweep of the Mavericks.
Zach LaVine struggled in the first half to finish with double-double 10 points and 10 assists while Thaddeous Young and Otto Porter Jr contributed 15 and 14 markers respectively for Chicago.
The Bulls, who fell in their previous games by four points or fewer, gained control of the match in the second period with a 40-point exploit and never looked back.
Mavericks star Luka Dončić achieved milestone in the defeat as he passed Michael Jordan on the career list with his 29th triple-double 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists output.
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points, but missed all of his seven attempts from the three-point line for Dallas.
Just like the Bulls, New York Knicks also got back on the winning track as it upset Eastern Conference No. 1 team Boston Celtics, 105-75, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, US.
Julius Randle tallied double-double 20 points and 12 rebounds while RJ Barrett also had a double-double of 19 points and 11 boards as the Knicks improved to a 6-8 win-loss slate.
The Knicks controlled the match as they poured 11 points in the first quarter before widening it to 13 at the half. New York pounced on Boston further in the second half as they went on a 10-0 scoring to widen the lead for good.
Jaylen Brown finished the match with 25 points, Marcus Smart added 10 markers while Kemba Walker made his season debut with nine points as the Celtics dropped to 8-4.
BOX SCORE:
CHICAGO 117 – Markkanen 29, Temple 21, Young 15, Porter 14, Carter 12, LaVine 10, Gafford 7, Williams 5, Arcidiacono 4, White 0.
DALLAS 101 – Dončić 36, Porzingis 20, Cauley-Stein 10, Johnson 10, Iwundu 9, Burke 5, Green 4, Terry 4, Marjanovic 2, Bey 1, Hinton 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 27-23; Q2, 67-52; Q3, 89-75; Q4, 117-101./PN
