Bulls finally win their first NBA Cup game, beating Hawks

Bulls coach Billy Donovan found himself in an uncomfortable place Friday night: up by double digits late against the Hawks with his starters still on the floor, trying to run up the score like a college football coach trying to impress poll voters with a lopsided victory.

That’s the NBA Cup for you.

Thanks to a game-high 26 points from guard Zach LaVine, the Bulls ended their winless streak in the league’s in-season tournament, beating the Hawks 136-122 at the United Center to improve to 1-1 in pool play. Point differential is one of the tournament tiebreakers, which is why Donovan had his starters in late. Shoot first, answer questions later.

It’s not a format he enjoys.

“I don’t know if there’s a different way to do it,” Donovan said. “When you’ve only got these four games, there’s got to be some sort of separation if these teams have the same record. But I don’t love that part of it, personally. It is what it is, those are the rules, and we’ve just got to play with them.”

The Bulls (7-10) weren’t used to being on the dominant side of the situation, having lost all four pool-play games last season in the inaugural tournament and dropping their Cup opener in Cleveland last week.

“It’s a little different,” rookie forward Matas Buzelis said of the format. “But for me, I care about the win. We got that done, and that’s all I cared about.”

Buzelis was more involved than he has been, scoring nine points in 20 minutes of playing time.

“Offensively, [I] could have been better,” he said. “Two travels, so I’ve got to be better on that. I’m a learner. I’m always going to learn, but offensively, I didn’t think I was that good.”

His coach thought differently, which is part of why Buzelis got the minutes. But it wasn’t the only reason. With Patrick Williams (inflamed left foot) out for a second straight game, others were needed to step up. Donovan started Ayo Dosunmu in Williams’ place rather than Torrey Craig for matchup purposes. Dosunmu set a tone right from the opening tip, scoring seven points in the first quarter with two assists and a steal.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise. Dosunmu usually has been good when thrown into a starting role out of the rotation.

“I think his decision-making has steadily improved the last two years,” Donovan said of Dosunmu, whose outside shooting numbers remain lower than expected. “The shooting part, I think, will be fine. He’s taken the right [shots]. He hasn’t shot the ball well, but I think he’s the one guy on our team, especially in transition, [who] can get to the rim, and that’s an area that we’ve struggled.

“His decision-making and the pressure he can put on the defense, that’s helped. I think he’s done a good job in terms of setting the pace for us. He’s able to play fast and move it up the floor really well.”

That continued most of the night for Dosunmu, especially late in the third quarter. With the Bulls up by 14 in the final seconds of the quarter, Dosunmu had a steal that led to a three-pointer by guard Coby White. He then made a layup that finished off a 41-point third quarter for the Bulls.

The Bulls’ next Cup game is Tuesday night against the Wizards on the road.