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Zach LaVine Erupts for Career-High 50 in Bulls' Loss to Trae Young, Hawks
April 10, 2021
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored 39 first-half points en route to a career-high 50 in a 120-108 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday evening.
LaVine shot 13-of-19 (7-of-9 from three-point range) in the first half to give Chicago a 66-53 halftime edge. He scored all of Chicago's 25 points during a 6:37 span in the second quarter.
LaVine became one of three players to score 39 or more first-half points in the last 20 years, per the NBA:
He also made Bulls history along the way:
Numerous NBA players noticed LaVine's work Friday, including Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Phoenix Suns wing Mikal Bridges:
LaVine has a habit of scoring points in bunches. For starters, his first 14 points came within the game's first seven minutes.
He also notably scored 49 against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 23, 2019, including 27 in the fourth quarter alone:
LaVine scored 11 in the second half and capped his career night with this dunk to give himself 50 points:
Outside LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic (25 points, 10 boards), however, the Bulls largely struggled offensively, scoring just 33 points on 12-of-36 shooting.
That opened the door for a Hawks comeback, and Atlanta took advantage of the opportunity.
The Hawks outscored the Bulls 67-42 in the second half to win by 12. Atlanta point guard Trae Young posted a near triple-double with 42 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
It was a disappointing result for the Bulls but an impressive night for LaVine, as the guard notched the first 50-point game of his career.