The Chicago Bulls fell to the Washington Wizards 105-101 on Monday night. The loss was not without controversy.
With the score sitting at 103-101 and just over nine seconds remaining in the game, Bulls star Zach LaVine (who has been the topic of a lot of trade talk) got the ball near half court. With one man on him, he took a few dribbles and then drove straight to the basket, anticipating that he would get fouled.
Sure enough, as he went up to the rim, he encountered a ton of contact – only there was no whistle blown.
The video largely speaks for itself.
dang pic.twitter.com/zuinCCD5p5
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) February 9, 2021
Yes, Alex Len went straight up and down while attempting to play defense, but he quite clearly clipped LaVine on the arm as well. That’s a foul by any definition you want to use.
LaVine was understandably heated when he was unable to get the ball to drop and failed to earn a whistle.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
Ultimately he finished the day with 35 points on 12-of-16 shooting, six assists and two rebounds.
With this loss Chicago fell to 9-14 on the year, while Washington improved to 6-15.
Obviously the Bulls won’t make the playoffs either way, so in the grand scheme of things losses are probably better than wins at this juncture, but falling to a squad as bad as the Wizards still has to sting.
Now we know what motivates Gronk to play so hard. https://t.co/xFnKnjoXQ4
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 24, 2021
For Washington, meanwhile, this outing proved to be a great example of how fast things can change. Just last week a list of five teams that Bradley Beal would be willing to be traded to came out. This week, they’re on a winning streak.
Circumstances can shift quickly in the NBA.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
