Bulls' defense falters again in 142-131 loss to Grizzlies

Bulls coach Billy Donovan didn’t exactly give his team a ringing endorsement.

Then again, it didn’t deserve one.

For the third time in the last six games, Donovan watched his defense allow 140 points or more. This time it was the undermanned Grizzlies who strolled into the United Center and earned a 142-131 victory.

‘‘At some point, we’ve got to hold our ground,’’ Donovan said when discussing the defense and whether it can be fixed. ‘‘I said before the season even started that defense was going to be a challenge, and it is. I think there are times that we have to look at the controllables.

‘‘Is it fixable? Defense is a talent. It’s no different than offense, in my opinion. There are guys that are talented defensively. We’re going to have to figure out a way to do it collectively. There are moments in time, moments of truth where you are going to be on an island, you are going to be by yourself. You’re going to have to make the guy make a couple of different moves.’’

That wasn’t the case for far too many Grizzlies baskets, especially for Scotty Pippen Jr., who scored a career-high 30 points on 13-for-17 shooting and handed out 10 assists.

‘‘Just take a stand, be more physical,’’ guard Coby White said of what the defense must do to try to improve. ‘‘Take more pride. The whole nine [yards]. We just have to put more into it on that end of the floor.’’

It wasn’t as though the Bulls (7-11) didn’t catch somewhat of a break, either.

One of their defensive weaknesses has been allowing guards to blow by them and get to the rim. There are few in the league better at that than Grizzlies star Ja Morant, but he didn’t play against the Bulls for the second time this season. This time, it was a muscle strain in his pelvis that kept him in street clothes.

They also avoided facing 7-4 rookie Zach Edey, who was out with a sprained left ankle.

What the Bulls couldn’t avoid was the kind of defensive breakdowns that have allowed opposing teams to get way too comfortable in the paint and from three-point range.

That’s exactly what happened in the third quarter, as the Grizzlies seemingly scored whenever and however they wanted on the way to 45 points. Pippen did much of the damage with 14 points in the quarter, but the Grizzlies shot 18-for-28 (64%) from the field, scored 20 points in the paint and shot 6-for-11 from three-point range in the third.

And it wasn’t as though the Bulls were bad offensively in the quarter, putting up 38 points on 13-for-25 shooting. But even that wasn’t good enough to keep them afloat.

‘‘It’s just a process, man,’’ White said. ‘‘You can’t give up 140, but we do play at a frantic, high pace, so sometimes that can bleed over defensively because you’re trying to play so fast.

‘‘We’re staying positive. I don’t have frustrations about it. We’ve still got a long way to go. This season is all about continuing to get better and work on habits.’’

If there was any good news, it was that the Bulls did have some offensive highlights to build on, including rookie Matas Buzelis scoring a career-high 14 points, finishing a plus-10 in plus/minus and having one of the better dunks of the season on a breakaway in the first half.

Baby steps.

‘‘I have not really seen much of a change in him in his attitude or his disposition,’’ Donovan said of Buzelis continuing to develop. ‘‘The biggest thing I respect about him more than anything is I think he understands the importance of the little things. That’s an area of focus he has really been focusing on.’’