Bulls Protect Home Court, Topple Nets

Mac McClung Highlights | Yuki Kawamura Highlights

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, protected home court on Friday night defeating the Long Island Nets 133-127. Chicago Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung led all scorers with 33 points.

The start of the contest saw Windy City shooting just 36% from the field, allowing Long Island to jump out to an 11-point lead to end the first frame. Poor shooting then came after the Nets in the second and allowed the Bulls to cut the deficit to just two going into halftime. The third was taken over by Brooklyn Nets two-way guard Tyson Etienne who sunk four threes and stacked up 15 points to put Long Island up by double-digits again. Rallying back in the finale, Chicago Bulls two-way guard Yuki Kawamura put up 11 points to help Windy City get back into the matchup. Off an assist from Kawamura, Windy City rookie guard Caleb Grill drilled a three for the lead then hit another triple to put the Bulls up by four. McClung converted on a driving layup and Windy City forward Mouhamadou Gueye punctuated the win with an alley-oop slam.

In his first start for Windy City, Kawamura notched a double-double of 25 points and 13 assists. The Kawamura-McClung backcourt combined for 58 points and seven of the nine active Bulls ended in double-digits. Windy City forward/center Giorgi Bezhanishvili ended with 17 points and 11 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the regular season. Gueye and Grill logged 17 and 16 points respectively. Off the bench, guard/forward Wooga Poplar and forward Keyshawn Bryant chipped in 11 and 10 points for the Bulls.

For Long Island, Brooklyn Nets two-way forward E.J. Liddell recorded 32 points and took down 10 rebounds for a double-double. Nets guard Malachi Smith neared a triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Long Island guard Nate Williams and forward Trevon Scott each contributed 16 points. Etienne ended with 15 points.

With the win the Bulls improve to 9-8 while the Nets fall to 11-8. Windy City continues its bout at home with back-to-back matchups against the Grand Rapids Gold next week. The first matchup is set for Wednesday, February 11 with tip-off at 7pm CST.  The game will be broadcast on CHSN (tape delay), NBAGLeague.com, and NBA docomo.