CHICAGO — After his team’s most lopsided loss this season, Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan pointed to only one play that was positive.
It came in the second quarter of the Bulls’ 127-92 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
It was supplied by the team’s promising rookie second-round pick.
“There was a play at the end of the second quarter where Julian pulled all the way in, the ball went up for a lob, he deflected it and we got a steal,” Donovan said. “We weren’t there enough like that.”
Who knew Julian Phillips would be leading by example in this stretch run?
If it’s possible for a bright spot to shine in a game in which the home team trails by as many as 37 points, Phillips would qualify. His energy and activity popped throughout his season-high 28 minutes. He scored 11 points with three rebounds, two offensive, two steals and two made 3-pointers on three attempts. He also made all three of his free throws.
But the most impressive, and perhaps important, part of Phillips’ night was his minutes against Mavericks 25-year-old star and MVP candidate Luka Dončić.
Dallas puts up 44 on the Bulls in the opening quarter in Chicago. Luka is going nuts already. He’s got 15-6-7. He’s a +28 through the first 12 minutes.
Mavs 44, Bulls 16….wow.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) March 12, 2024
Phillips didn’t do much to limit Dončić, who secured his triple-double midway through the third quarter before finishing with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, all game highs. Phillips matched up against the Mavs maestro only sporadically but got a heavy dose of Dončić in the fourth quarter before Dallas called him off with 6:09 remaining. Dončić drilled tough shots on Phillips just as he did against Alex Caruso and Torrey Craig.
But the rest of this Bulls season is about player development as much as anything, and the rookie responded to the challenge exactly how you’d want to see him approach it — fearlessly and enthusiastically.
“This is what you want to do when you’re in this league, play against the best players,” Phillips said. “So just getting an opportunity, I’m just trying to go out there and do what I do. It’s real exciting.”
Neither his assignment nor his success stopped Phillips from his customary, postgame weightlifting session. He didn’t care that he had just gone up against Dončić.
“Yeah, you’ve got to get it in,” he said. “I’ve always got to get it in.”
It’s that mentality Phillips carries that has left an impression on his teammates and coaches. When coupled with the development he’s displayed as a perimeter shooter, as well as the impact he already makes as a defender, rebounder and periodic rim protector, it’s not hard to imagine possibilities with Phillips.
Monday might have been a black eye for the Bulls. But for Phillips, it was a milestone. These are the tests that will harden him and prepare him for matchups like these down the line.
“The hard part for Julian in a game like this is Alex has had to absorb so many of these high-level offensive players,” Donovan said. “And sometimes when you bring somebody like Torrey in ahead of Julian, a lot of it is just the experience in the NBA of players that he’s guarded. And Julian will get better at those things and learn those things. He’s very bright. He picks things up. He’s a good worker.”
On a fourth-quarter possession with nine minutes left, Phillips timed a trap against Dončić with Ayo Dosunmu perfectly. Dončić tried whipping a bold, behind-the-back pass to the left corner in front of the Bulls bench. Phillips, playing big with his arms up, jumped and got hit by the pass in the midsection. It was one of Dončić’s two turnovers. Phillips corralled the ball and fired it to Dosunmu, who dropped off a dump-off to Onuralp Bitim for an uncontested dunk.
“He had a good game so I feel like we could have done stuff better to slow him down,” Phillips said of Dončić.
Phillips will use the experience against Dončić as a teaching tool.
“He’s really skilled,” Phillips said. “He knows how to play the game. Has a really high IQ. He kind of plays at his own pace too so you can’t really speed him up.”
Phillips wasn’t sure if he’d play Monday or match up against Dončić. When his opportunity came, he didn’t back down.
“It’s just time to go to work,” Phillips said. “You put in the work previously prepping for it. So just trust what you put in and the results will show.”
(Photo of Julian Phillips and Luka Dončić: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
