Windy City Loses to Grand Rapids Despite Dotson Scoring 30

A 30-point showing from Devon Dotson wasn't enough as the Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, couldn’t overcome a strong team performance from the Grand Rapids Gold Sunday, Nov. 21. Dotson and the Bulls fell to Grand Rapids 111-93 at NOW Arena.

The Gold had a strong first quarter, rattling off a 16-4 run in the middle of the period to grab a double-digit lead. The Bulls found themselves in a 28-16 hole after the opening 12 minutes.

In the second quarter, Dotson and nine-year NBA veteran Lance Stephenson went back-and-forth exchanging buckets, with each player scoring nine points in the quarter on 4-for-5 shooting. The Bulls managed to cut their deficit to seven points early in the second period, but the Gold regained control to lead by nineteen heading into halftime.

Stephenson put up 16 first-half points to lead all scorers, while Dotson had 11 for Windy City.

After the break, Dotson continued his strong play, finishing with 10 points and a pair of steals in the third quarter. Despite Dotson’s impact on both ends, the Bulls weren’t able to cut into the deficit, tying the Gold 23-23 in the quarter.

Windy City started the fourth on a 9-4 run to get within 14 points of the Gold, but Grand Rapids immediately responded with a 10-0 run of their own. Dotson finished with a game-high 30 points — the most by a Windy City player this season — but the Bulls lost to the Gold 111-93.

Chicago Bulls Two-Way forward Tyler Cook made his Windy City debut against the Gold, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds. After being sent down for his second stint with Windy City, Chicago Bulls center Marko Simonović scored 13 points and eight boards.

Entering the game, Ethan Thompson had scored in double figures in every game for Windy City this season. The guard from Oregon State continued that streak against Grand Rapids, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds. Daniel Oturu came off the bench to provide 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls.

Six Grand Rapids players scored in double figures, led by five-year NBA veteran Nik Stauskas’ 22 points and nine rebounds. Stephenson ended with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Vlatko Čančar notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 1-6 on the season, while Grand Rapids sits at 3-2.

The Bulls have a week off until they travel to Oshkosh to take on the Wisconsin Herd in a two-game series on Nov. 29 and Dec. 1. Tip-off for both games is set for 7 p.m. CT. The Nov. 29 game will be broadcast on NBAGLeague.com, while the Dec. 1 matchup is slated to air on ESPN+.