Windy City’s Second Half Surge Comes Up Short, Thompson Scores 29

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, lost a 101-99 thriller to the Motor City Cruise on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in the first game back at NOW Arena in 617 days. Ethan Thompson led the way for the Bulls with 29 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The game was a back-and-forth affair with 10 lead changes and eight ties. Motor City held a narrow 25-24 lead after the opening quarter, but the Bulls battled back to take a 52-51 lead into halftime.

Thompson came out of the gates on fire, putting up 17 first-half points to help Windy City grab a one-point lead at the break. 

The third quarter started close, but Motor City broke off a 19-4 run to end the period and take an 82-71 lead into the final 12 minutes.

After a competitive start to the fourth quarter, Thompson scored 10 points in the final 4:31 of the game to keep the Bulls within striking distance. His final basket — a three-pointer with one second remaining in the game — cut the Bulls’ deficit to one point. Despite Thompson’s late-game surge, the Bulls’ fourth-quarter comeback came up just short, falling to the Cruise 101-99.

For Windy City, Devon Dotson once again filled the stat sheet, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Scottie Lindsey scored 15 points, including a clutch three-pointer with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter to bring the Bulls within four points of the Cruise.

Daniel Oturu contributed 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, Elijah Thomas came off the bench to score 13 points for Windy City.

Motor City’s Saben Lee came into the game averaging a league-high 37.7 points, but the Bulls held Lee to 23 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Prior to facing the Bulls, Lee also averaged nine assists — the second-best mark in the league — but finished with four assists against Windy City.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 1-4 on the season, while the Cruise improve to 2-2.

The Bulls and Cruise play the second game of a back-to-back series Nov. 18 at NOW Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago.