Caruso sits as Bulls end 2-1 trip with defensive dud originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LOS ANGELES --- Alex Caruso sat out the Chicago Bulls' 124-112 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers as he continues to deal with left midfoot soreness that the team has acknowledged will linger all season.
The way the Clippers shared and shot the ball Monday night, Caruso's defensive-minded presence might not have mattered.
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The Clippers posted an opponent season-high 41 assists on 48 field goals, 20 of which came from behind the arc. That revived the math problem the Bulls have faced all season. They sank just nine 3-pointers, only one more than Nicolas Batum, who led the Clippers with 24 points.
The Clippers shot 59.3 percent overall and 50 percent from 3-point range.
"We knew going in that we were going to be in situations where we were going to have to protect the rim and then scramble and rotate out," coach Billy Donovan said. "We've really been pretty good most of the year on closeouts, and we didn't do a good job (Monday) night. Things got opened up. We were late helping, late rotating. I didn't think our communication on our rotations was great."
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Donovan rued allowing too much dribble penetration, much of it from his former player in Russell Westbrook, as the main culprit. Westbrook finished with 12 points and 10 assists.
The Bulls also focused some of their initial defensive attention on Kawhi Leonard, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. But the Clippers' ball movement proved sublime as all five starters scored in double figures with three passing for at least five assists.
The Bulls have been solid at contesting shots all season. But Donovan felt the dribble penetration and strong ball movement from the Clippers led to some early open looks from 3-point range, allowing them to find a rhythm so that they kept falling even when the shots started getting contested.
The Clippers also scored 22 points off turnovers and posted 26 fast-break points. That's a team on an offensive roll.
"We didn't bring no rhythm whatsoever," DeMar DeRozan said. "They were hot and stayed hot. We were a step slow. We didn't give ourselves a chance."
Donovan wouldn't use the fact the Bulls were finishing a back-to-back set and three games in four nights as an excuse. The Bulls beat the Lakers in a Sunday matinee and stayed in a hotel across the street, so they played the second game in about as optimal a rest situation as possible for a back-to-back.
The Bulls finished 2-1 on the trip and lead Washington by three games in the play-in race. They also trail the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks by one game but are faced with the reality that Caruso, Javonte Green and, to a lesser extent, DeRozan are battling injury situations that will linger. Green sat again with his knee soreness, while Donovan acknowledged that Caruso isn't practicing with contact on the Bulls' off days as they try to manage his foot soreness.
The Bulls face a rematch with the Lakers on Wednesday at the United Center.
"We got two games out of (the trip) but we need every game," DeRozan said. "We got seven left. We gotta start a rhythm."
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