Zach LaVine has put together a fantastic season for the Chicago Bulls that resulted in his first All-Star selection, and he’s taking things to another level on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks. It’s halftime, and LaVine already has 39 points!
LaVine was an extremely efficient 13-of-19 from the field, 7-of-9 on three-pointers, and 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. A few of the threes were crazy shots. When he reached 39 points, he had scored 25 straight points for the Bulls.
The 39 points are the most points scored by an NBA player in any half this season (topping Nikola Jokic and Terry Rozier, who each scored 36 points). Jamal Crawford is the last player to score 39 in a half, when he did so in the second half of a game in April 2019.
And it’s the highest scoring total in the first half since Klay Thompson scored 40 in December 2016.
It’s also a Bulls franchise record for points scored in the first half, and just one shy of the record for points in a half. Jimmy Butler — not Michael Jordan — has the record, with 40 points scored in the second half of a game in January 2016.
Now we wait to see how many points LaVine finishes with overall in the game. His incredible efforts led the Bulls to a 66-53 halftime lead over the Hawks.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.