Bulls' Zach LaVine Annoyed by Benching: 'You Play a Guy Like Me Down the Stretch'

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine questioned the decision by head coach Billy Donovan to bench him for the final four minutes of Friday night's 108-107 home loss to the Orlando Magic.

LaVine struggled mightily with his shot throughout the contest, going 1-of-14 from the field with an 0-of-5 mark on threes, but the two-time All-Star felt he should have still been on the floor in crunch time.

"I gotta do a better job at the beginning of the game to make my shots, but you play a guy like me down the stretch," LaVine told reporters. "That's what I do. Do I like the decision? No. Do I have to live with it? Yeah. Be ready to put my shoes on and play the next game."

The Bulls, who trailed by 14 at halftime, were able to make a surge in the third quarter with LaVine on the sideline, and head coach Billy Donovan decided it was best to bring him back to the bench as the team attempted to complete the complete in the final minutes.

"I feel like my job, my responsibility in those moments is to try to make the best decisions for the team," Donovan said. "And I thought that was the best decision at the time. To me, I don't look at it as anything else but the one-off game where this is what was going on. I know he wanted to be out there. There's probably not very many games in his career where [LaVine] hasn't been out there in those moments, but that group was playing well and it gave us a chance."

LaVine's four points were his fewest in a game so far this season and marked his lowest total since Jan. 14, when he failed to score in four minutes before getting hurt in a game against the Golden State Warriors.

The 27-year-old UCLA product is one of the NBA's most lethal scorers when his shot is clicking, but that wasn't the case Friday, which left Donovan in a difficult situation.

"Just ask him what his decision was, what made him think that way," LaVine said when asked if he would discuss the situation with Donovan. "Obviously, he wanted to go with some other guys out there, I wasn't having the best night shooting, but it's a tough one."

He added: "I've missed a lot of shots, but I've had a lot of games where I've played terribly and in four, five minutes put up 15, 16 points. I just wasn't able to shoot the next shot."

More importantly, the Bulls' fourth straight loss dropped the team to 6-10 overall with a lackluster 4-5 mark at home. Things don't get any easier with the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks the next two opponents on the schedule.

LaVine will attempt to rediscover his shooting stroke ahead of Monday's clash with Boston, the squad's last home game before starting a six-game road trip.