'Frustrated' Bulls players meet after blowout loss to Thunder in opener - ESPN

CHICAGO — When Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan walked into the locker room following his team's 124-104 season-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bulls players were already in the middle of a discussion and asked their coach if they could have the room to talk among themselves.

«Guys want to win,» Bulls guard Zach LaVine said after Wednesday's game. «You put up a game like this in game 1, you're going to have some conversations. Guys are frustrated and you should be.… It's a good thing, but sucks that it happened game 1. It happened, and we got to go from there.»

A players-only meeting after the first game is not how Chicago envisioned the start of their season after bringing back the core of its roster for another season. The Bulls brought back their top seven players by minutes played from last season, adding a pair of reserves in Jevon Carter and Torey Craig, but otherwise doubling down on the continuity of its roster.

However, the Bulls were overmatched by the Thunder on Wednesday night. Chicago led 35-33 after the first quarter but scored just 69 points over the final three periods. The Bulls had no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 20 points.

«We just didn't respond once they did that run in the second half,» said LaVine, who finished with 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting. «Wasn't a great showing from us. Didn't shoot the ball well. Don't feel like we played with enough heart. And that's on us. Terrible way to come out and start the season, but it gives us opportunity to bounce back the next game.»

The locker room wasn't the only place where Bulls players aired out their feelings on Wednesday night.

On the team