3 takeaways as the Bulls beat the Nets -- but the biggest cheers weren't for the basketball

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune on Jan 18, 2026

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls needed to blow off some steam.

That was clear within minutes of Sunday’s 124-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls haven’t won big often this season — before this weekend, they logged only seven victories by a double-digit margin.

Beating the 12-27 Nets doesn’t mean much. Brooklyn sat star Michael Porter Jr. for rest. The Bulls are still two games under .500. They are stuck in a familiar dance with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks just above the play-in cutoff line. But a 22-point beatdown of an Eastern Conference featherweight — off the back of a season-high 41 assists — gave the Bulls some much-needed satisfaction after an up-and-down week.

“I thought we shared the ball really well,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we generated good shots. I felt we were a little bit more active with our hands. That was all good.”

The win was met with somewhat muted enthusiasm from a half-full arena where fans were clearly splitting their attention with another game happening downtown. The biggest cheers of the night filled the United Center each time a highlight from the Bears’ playoff game was shown on the big screen at center court.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

White is on fire

Even on his best nights this season, Coby White has still been searching for his 3-point shot.

The guard has nearly returned to his scoring highs set last season, averaging 17.9 points per game (down from 20.4 points per game last season) while bouncing in and out of the rotation due to a set of lingering calf injuries. But the guard is still shooting the ball significantly below his career averages, logging a 31.3% clip from deep compared to his 36.7% career average.

Despite these struggles from deep, White’s shooting has returned in flashes in recent weeks as he regains strength and consistency in his legs. Sunday’s win marked one of those nights.

White scored 21 of his 24 points from behind the arc, sinking his first 3 attempts of the night.

He finished 7 for 11 (63.6%) from deep.

White’s onslaught was only one source of a crucial advantage for the Bulls, who bludgeoned the Nets from the 3-point arc in the first half. The Bulls cooled off after shooting 60% from 3-point range in the first half, but still outscored Brooklyn 60 to 48 from deep, including five 3s from Ayo Dosunmu and three from Matas Buzelis.

The bigs post big minutes

The Bulls are still waiting on the return of Zach Collins — who will be sidelined until after the All-Star break with a sprained big toe — to run out their full slate of double-big lineups. But that doesn’t mean the team can’t lean on this preferred rotation in shortened stints.

Donovan started centers Jalen Smith and Nikola Vučević against the Nets, providing much-needed size against Brooklyn’s pairing of Nic Claxton and Danny Wolf. Both centers thrived in this system. Smith logged 12 points and 10 rebounds. Vučević tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Starting and closing with both bigs presents a grueling workload for the two centers. Vučević played 28 minutes. Smith played nearly 31. But it was ultimately worth it for the Bulls, who have found comfort in the improved rim protection and physicality created by doubling up their centers.

Giddey is nearing a return

Guard Josh Giddey took another step toward returning to the rotation Sunday by practicing with the Windy City Bulls. Giddey has been sidelined for weeks with a strained left hamstring, missing a total of nine games in the process. If the guard comes out of Sunday’s practice with minimal discomfort, the Bulls are hopeful that he can return to practice with the senior team by the end of this week.

This has been a disruptive injury for Giddey, who was making an All-Star campaign for himself by averaging 19.2 points, 9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game before straining his hamstring. The guard has played only 300 total minutes with teammate White this season, a brutal source of inconsistency for the Bulls.

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