Control what you can control. That is all anyone can do in daily life and, in the case of Chicago Bulls (17-21) forward Patrick Williams, on the basketball court. It is also something the Bulls have not necessarily done lately.
They have dropped three of their last five outings with several decided in questionable fashion thanks to the refs and, mostly, the Bulls’ inconsistency in execution.
That extends to Williams who found himself in an unenviable spot in the Bulls’ latest loss.
Staked to a two-point lead, the Bulls allowed Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell to gather his own missed free throw and put it back, sending the game into overtime. The Bulls fell 145-134 behind Mitchell’s record-setting 71-point effort, an effort that is steeped in controversy Williams isn’t using as an excuse.
Patrick Williams Owns Missed Box Out
“That one was on me,” Williams said, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “Quite honestly, there really isn’t a lot of technicality with it. It’s just go get the ball. A lot of times, down the stretch, it’s not really something that you can draw up or kind of predetermine. It’s just kind of, go get it, mono a mono, go get it….I put that one on me.”
The NBA’s last two-minute report revealed a pair of blown calls that went against the Bulls in that loss, including a lane violation by Mitchell on that game-tying putback; a result that head coach Billy Donovan predicted in his postgame availability.
Williams still wasn’t making any excuses though he did note that “as soon as I looked up, he was gone.”
He also isn’t taking solace in the results of the league’s report.
Patrick didn’t realize the NBA’s Last Two Minute report showed that Donovan Mitchell did commit a lane violation
“Take it. They may have said that the call was wrong, but they didn’t change the outcome of the game.”
Williams finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal but only had two points on 1-of-3 shooting after halftime failing to record any other stat even with the addition period. It was still his first double-digit scoring performance in three games and just his third since December 18.
He had a team-high 22 points to go with seven boards and a pair of steals in the Bulls’ surprising 121-112 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Working on The Wrong Side Of History
The Bulls have let multiple records be set against them this season, both on an individual and franchise level. But Williams has still been tasked with the toughest assignments on a nightly basis.
It is an opportunity he says he relishes.
“I definitely enjoy it,” he said of his pending matchup against Kevin Durant of the surging Nets, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “I always want to be able to look back and say I battled with KD, I battled with LeBron, I was playing on a team with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. You never know how much longer they have.”
Williams and the Bulls knocked off the Nets, snapping their NBA-best 12-game winning streak and restoring some faith.
Durant entered the night ranked seventh in the league averaging 29.6 points on 67.4% true shooting and has been even better of late averaging a clean 30 points on 71.4% true shooting over his previous 16 outings.
The Nets were 16-1 in that span also winning a game against the Indiana Pacers without him.
He stayed hot getting 44 points on better than 68% shooting with five assists, four boards, and a pair of blocks all in a losing effort.
It was a tall task for Williams and just one of many for the Bulls who also had to contend with Durant’s teammate Kyrie Irving. He averaged 27.1 PPG on 63.8% true shooting in that same span and had 25 points against the Bulls but also struggled from beyond the arc going 1-for-8.
This was a nice response from Williams and the Bulls.
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Beleaguered Bulls Prospect Opens Up About Costly Mental Lapse