Bulls Looking to Open Season with 7-0 Road Record for 1st Time
The Chicago Bulls improved to 6-0 on the road with Monday's 105-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, marking the first time since 1996-97 the franchise has won each of its first six road games in a season, per NBA.com/stats.
The NBA's only team with an undefeated record away from home, Chicago largely benefited from an easy road schedule at first, moving to 4-0 thanks to wins over the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.
The past two road victories were far more impressive, with Monday's skunking of the Clippers preceded by a 100-93 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 13. The 8-2 Raptors have won each of their other six home games by an average margin of 15.3 points
The Bulls, meanwhile, have outscored their opponents by 60 points in the six road games, making for an average margin of exactly 10.
Back in 1996-97, the Bulls won each of their first six road games with an average margin of 13 points, but then lost No. 7 to the Utah Jazz.
Chicago would finish that season with a 69-13 record, before beating Utah 4-2 in the memorable 1997 NBA Finals.
The Bulls' six-game season-opening road winning streak in 1996-97 came on the heels of a seven-game road streak to close out the previous campaign. The combined 13-game road winning streak still stands as easily the longest in franchise history, per Basketball-Reference.com's play index.
This year's Bulls have a long ways to go before thinking about that record, but they'll still have a chance to become the first team in franchise history with seven consecutive road wins to start a season.
The matchup is certainly winnable, with the Bulls facing the 6-5 Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena on Thursday. The Kings have lost four of their last five games after jumping out to a 5-1 start.
