Windy City Bulls Beat Grand Rapids Gold in Overtime

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, beat the Grand Rapids Gold 115-112 Monday night at Van Andel Arena. Windy City was led by Chicago Bulls Two-Way guard Carlik Jones with 35 points, six rebounds and eight assists. 

Chicago Bulls Assignment center Marko Simonovic had 27 points on 7-for-10 shooting from three-point territory. Chicago Bulls Two-Way forward Malcolm Hill finished with 14 points.

Simonovic knocked down three first-quarter triples as Windy City and Grand Rapids were knotted at 28 after the opening 12 minutes. The Gold led for most of the second quarter, but the Bulls rattled off an 11-0 run near the end of the period and took a two-point lead into halftime.

Windy City’s lead ballooned to 10 points midway through the third quarter, but the Gold weathered the storm to get within a point of the Bulls entering the final period. After a back-and-forth final quarter, Simonović scored a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 108 and force overtime. 

This season, the NBA G League introduced a Final Target Score system for overtime. Seven points are added to the tied score at the end of the fourth quarter. The game clock shuts off at the end of regulation and the first team to reach the Final Target Score wins.

Both teams came out strong in overtime, finding themselves tied at 112 with a target score of 115 before Windy City forward Henri Drell knocked down a leaning three-pointer to win the game. 

Grand Rapids center Grant Golden led the Gold with a double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds. Gold guard Adonis Arms finished with 20 points.

With the win, Windy City improved to 8-10 in the regular season, while Grand Rapids fell to 5-14. 

Tomorrow, Feb. 14, the Bulls have a rematch with the Gold at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on NBAGLeague.com.