Coming off a two-game road series, the Chicago Bulls returned to the United Center on Sunday to host the Houston Rockets, but it was not much of a sweet homecoming.

The Bulls had a 26-24 lead over Houston with a minute and a half left in the first quarter, but that was the last point of the game where they were ahead. The Rockets ran away with the game after the first break, outscoring the Bulls 116-81 in the final three quarters.

The Rockets left Chicago with a commanding 143-107 win, a complete disaster by the Bulls. The Rockets had seven players in double-digit scoring, compared to Chicago’s two.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was audibly upset about the blowout loss, calling out his players for not stepping up when they were needed.

“We’re not a shot-blocking team. We’re going to have to put our bodies into play,” Donovan said following the loss. “For as much as the ball was coming downhill, we didn’t have one guy try to take a charge. Somebody’s gotta put their body in a play.”

Not only did the Rockets outscore the Bulls in the paint, they doubled their points in the paint. Houston outscored Chicago 80-40 in the interior.

The Bulls set a franchise record with 56 three-point attempts but only knocked down 14 of them. With such a poor shooting night, Donovan makes a great point about the team having to step up on defense, but the Rockets really just got whatever they wanted on that end.

The Bulls fall to 5-9 early into the 2024-25 season, but their lack of paint presence will cost them many games throughout the year. Chicago cannot let a poor shooting night dictate the outcome of a game, yet that is what happened on Sunday against the Rockets.

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