LEMON JR. RECORDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN WINDY CITY DEBUT

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Wednesday, December 12, 2018

LEMON JR. RECORDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN WINDY CITY DEBUT

BULLS FALL 103-89 TO LONG ISLAND

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, extended their losing streak to four games with a 103-89 loss to the Long Island Nets on Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Three Bulls players scored in double figures led by JaKarr Sampson who poured in a game-high 29 points and added seven rebounds and two assists. In his Windy City debut, Walt Lemon Jr. recorded his third double-double of the season and tallied 18 points, five rebounds, a season-high 12 assists and two steals, while Rawle Alkins collected 17 points and six rebounds. Joe Kilgore contributed nine points off the bench and Jon Octeus pitched in with six points.

Mitchell Creek led the way for Long Island scoring a team-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while three Nets players collected double-doubles. Alan Williams collected his ninth of the season and tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Brooklyn Nets assignee, Dzanan Musa recorded 17 points and grabbed a career-high-tying 13 rebounds. Theo Pinson, Long Island’s second Two-Way player, posted his first career double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and career-high 10 assists and Jordan McLaughlin added 18 points and nine assists of his own.

Offense was on full display in the first quarter. Both squads combined to make 11 field goals in the opening five minutes of the contest, but Long Island forged ahead and led by six at the first media timeout. Sampson had the hot hand for Windy City as he led all scorers with 12 points to go with three rebounds in the period. Following the stoppage, the Bulls put together an extended 14-4 run and jumped out to a 22-18 lead with just over four minutes to play in the quarter. Windy City led by as many as five in the opening 12 minutes, but the Nets closed the quarter by scoring the final five points. Each team shot over 45 percent and the evenly matched first quarter ended in a 27-27 deadlock.

Alkins opened the second quarter with back-to-back baskets, which gave the Bulls a four-point advantage, but it didn’t last long as Long Island responded with a 9-2 spurt of their own to regain the lead, which they would relinquish for the remainder of the contest. There wasn’t much separation as neither team led by more than more than four points in the frame. With under three minutes to play in the half, Octeus nailed a three-pointer to pull the Bulls within one, but they were unable to even the score. In similar fashion to the first period, Long Island ended the half on a 5-0 run. The Nets shot 50 percent in the stanza and led 50-46 at the intermission.

After exchanging baskets to begin the second half, the final seven minutes of the quarter belonged to Long Island. Trailing by seven with 10:23 remaining, Windy City used three consecutive baskets by Sampson and Fair to make it 58-57 game, which forced a Nets timeout with just under eight minutes left to play in the period. The one-point deficit was as close as the Bulls would get as Long Island opened their first double-digit lead of the night after scoring 11 of the next 15 points. Windy City shot 36 percent and were outscored by 10 in the quarter. The Nets led by as many as 14 points in the period and were on top 79-65 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Windy City opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to slice the lead to 11, but Long Island responded with six consecutive points to extend their lead to 17. The Bulls, however, had one final run in them and cut the lead to single digits with the help of a 10-2 run in a three-minute span. The Nets withstood the run and put the game away as they collected nine quicks to up their lead to 18. Long Island led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter, outscored the Bulls 53-43 in the second half and cruised to their third straight victory, 103-89.

With the loss, Windy City is now 5-4 all-time against Long Island. The Bulls have now scored fewer than 100 points in 10 of their 17 games this season.

Windy City returns home for back-to-back games this weekend before departing for the 2018 G League Showcase in Las Vegas. Friday’s Dog Night presented by Mueller is set for 7:00pm CT against the Canton Charge at Sears Centre Arena.

Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting (WindyCityBulls.com). Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2018-19 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.

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