Who’s playing
Portland Trail Blazers @ Chicago Bulls
Current records: Portland 19-48, Chicago 33-35
How to watch
- When: Monday March 18, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Or: United Center – Chicago, IL
- TV: NBC Sports Chicago
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $22.00
What there is to know
The Bulls and Trail Blazers have been tied 5-5 since March 2019, but not for long. The Chicago Bulls will play at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at 8 p.m. ET at the United Center. The Trail Blazers suffered a loss in their last game and will look to turn things around against the Bulls, who are coming off a win.
The Bulls entered their competition on Saturday as a heavy favorite, and they fully lived up to expectations. They were clearly victorious by a margin of 127-98 against Washington. The game was decided at halftime, when the score had already reached 67-45.
The Bulls can attribute much of their success to Nikola Vucevic, who had a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu, who shot 4 of 7 from long range and nearly lost a double-double with 34 points and nine assists. In fact, this is the most points Dosunmu has scored all season.
The Trail Blazers were undoubtedly aware that the odds were against them in their game against the Pelicans, but that awareness did nothing to prevent the predicted outcome. Portland suffered a bruising 126-107 loss at the hands of the Pelicans on Saturday. This defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Trail Blazers in their clashes with the Pelicans: they have now lost five in a row.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Dalano Banton, who scored 28 points along with six assists and five rebounds. He’s going in the right direction, as he’s improved his point production for three straight games.
Chicago’s win ended a three-game home drought and moved them to 33-35. As for Portland, they’ve been on a rocky road recently after losing six of their last eight games, which took a major dent in their 19-48 record this season.
The Bulls were able to pull off a solid victory over the Trail Blazers in their previous meeting in January, winning 104-96. Do the Bulls have another win up their sleeve, or will the Trail Blazers turn things around? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Odds
Chicago is a big favorite with 8 points against Portland, according to the latest NBA Odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bulls as 7.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 214 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Chicago and Portland both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- January 28, 2024 – Chicago 104 vs. Portland 96
- March 24, 2023 – Chicago 124 vs. Portland 96
- February 4, 2023 – Chicago 129 vs. Portland 121
- January 30, 2022 – Chicago 130 vs. Portland 116
- November 17, 2021 – Portland 112 vs. Chicago 107
- January 30, 2021 – Portland 123 vs. Chicago 122
- January 5, 2021 – Chicago 111 vs. Portland 108
- November 29, 2019 – Portland 107 vs. Chicago 103
- November 25, 2019 – Portland 117 vs. Chicago 94
- March 27, 2019 – Portland 118 vs. Chicago 98
