Bulls’ Zach LaVine outscores whole Nets team in fourth quarter
Zach LaVine was listed as “questionable” going into Tuesday night’s game. No one was questioning his health after a 20-point fourth quarter.
LaVine and the Chicago Bulls ruined Jacque Vaughn’s return to the Nets’ interim head-coaching job, outscoring Brooklyn 31-19 in the fourth. Yes, Brooklyn’s whole team put up one fewer point than LaVine did all by himself. He shot 6-of-10 in the period, including a personal eight-point run with two back-to-back deep threes that gave Chicago a 99-90 lead.
The Nets would never get closer than seven points after that.
LaVine has sat out three Bulls games so far while managing his recovering knee, and he will likely sit for Wednesday night’s game against Charlotte. It’s a departure from last season, when LaVine tried to play through his injury. He also didn’t rule out playing Wednesday night, saying, “I am feeling better each game,” per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
Brooklyn fired Steve Nash on Tuesday while Kevin Durant was napping. (He had 32 points.) He said he had nothing to do with Nash’s firing — despite demanding it this summer. Durant was cordial about Nash, telling reporters, “It was a roller coaster last few years, but the core of the basketball is something we all love to do. Regardless of who is the coach, regardless the circumstances, you still got to come to work, and I enjoyed coming to work with Steve.”