The Chicago Bulls may have come up short in their bid to make it to the NBA Cup quarterfinals after suffering a 138-129 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. The Bulls kept it competitive until the very end, with Zach LaVine coming alive in the fourth quarter to finish with 29 points on the night.
LaVine tallied 13 of his 29 points in the final frame, going 5-8 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc to rebound from somewhat of a slow start. And in making a total of four threes on the night, the Bulls guard cemented himself as the greatest marksman in franchise history.
Following their loss to the Celtics, LaVine now has 1,051 career three-pointers — allowing him to surpass Kirk Hinrich to be the Bulls franchise's all-time leader in three-pointers made. LaVine came into the night in need of just three threes to overtake Hinrich, and with a huge triple in the fourth quarter to temporarily cut the Celtics' lead to three, he accomplished the feat.
Time has passed so quickly to the point that LaVine is now the all-time leader in three-pointers made for a Bulls franchise that has been the home to plenty of great players through the years. The Bulls acquired LaVine in 2017, and since then, he has been one of the most reliable scorers in the association — emerging as a nightly threat to score 20 or more points while taking on a huge offensive workload.
But with the way things are shaping up for the Bulls, LaVine may not have much time left to pad his lead on the all-time threes leaderboard over Hinrich, as it may only be a matter of time before the 28-year-old changes teams via trade.
Zach LaVine's days as a member of the Bulls franchise are numbered
The Bulls have not made Zach LaVine's availability in trade talks a secret; LaVine does not exactly fit the team's contending timeline anymore after letting DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso go, and if any team becomes desperate enough for an upgrade that wouldn't cost too much in terms of draft capital, then LaVine could be on his way out of the Windy City.
LaVine should be remembered fondly by Bulls fans as someone who blossomed into a multiple-time All-Star while toiling away on mediocre teams. He has only made the playoffs once with the team, but at the very least, he's leaving a legacy that has him as the best volume three-point shooter in franchise history.
