Portland @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2019 ) Portland 118, Chicago 98

Whatever problems Zach LaVine has with coach Jim Boylen, he took out his frustrations on the court Saturday. LaVine will try to lead the Chicago Bulls to a second consecutive win when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

LaVine was benched in the first quarter of Friday's loss to the Miami Heat after a sluggish start and felt a lack of trust from his coach, according to reporters, but broke out for 49 points and knocked down 13-of-17 from beyond the arc in Saturday's 116-115 win at the Charlotte Hornets. "I've always said Zach is a really good guy and a good person and he wants to do well," Boylen told reporters after the win. "He wants to help the team. ... My job is to push the guy to a place he can't take himself, and that happens sometimes with tough conversations, meetings and maybe some uncomfortable moments, but that's what my job is. The credit needs to go to him and his focus, energy and his effort." The Trail Blazers are losers of four in a row and dropped a 110-104 decision at Cleveland on Saturday to fall to 1-4 on their six-game road trip. "I think our team understands that there's certain things we're not doing well enough to win games," point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "But we really do, as a group, believe that it's going to turn around. We're just going to stay with it and keep working toward improving. That's all we can do right now."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (5-12): Portland brought in veteran Carmelo Anthony to provide a scoring boost but is 0-3 since he joined the lineup. Anthony is averaging 13 points on 34.1 percent shooting and went 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in Friday's loss, but guard CJ McCollum believes the team's problems go much deeper than getting used to new players. "Frustrated, sad, two good adjectives," McCollum told reporters after Saturday's setback. "We've been inconsistent, obviously, with our record, more inconsistent than consistent. Breakdowns, fouls, offensive rebounds, a little bit of everything. I didn't think we were bad defensively, but those little lapses were costly."

ABOUT THE BULLS (6-11): LaVine, whose 13 3-pointers tied Stephen Curry for the second-most in NBA history, knocked down seven of those 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and buried the game-winner with a fadeaway from beyond the arc. "We've been playing good in stretches," LaVine told reporters. "We just executed to perfection down the stretch. Obviously, you know, we got blessed a little bit with some luck. We can take this energy and go on to the next game. Hopefully this is that turning point for us." LaVine had some help on Saturday from rookie guard Coby White, who went 12-of-19 from the floor en route to a season-high 28 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bulls PF Lauri Markkanen is 4-of-21 from the floor over the last two games.

2. Trail Blazers C Hassan Whiteside (hip) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. Portland took both meetings last season, including a 118-98 triumph in Chicago.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 113, Bulls 110