First came the large speaker, being carried down the hallway as the hype music blared.
Then came the parade of players, one-by-one congregating at the end of the hallway for the pregame dance-off. The Grizzlies’ version of the Haka.
The NBA’s newest reboot of the “Bad Boys’’ seemed more than ready to register win No. 50 on the season, with Ja Morant & Co. still chasing down Denver for the top seed in the West.
All that stood in their way was a collection of “good guys,’’ as Billy Donovan often refers to his players.
But by the time the final horn sounded, not bad for a bunch of choir boys. Not bad at all.
In one of the biggest turnarounds of the season from first half to second half, the Bulls (38-40) saved their best basketball for last, overcoming a 23-point deficit, and running Memphis out of the United Center on Sunday, literally.
All the Bulls did in the 128-107 win was score 31 points off 18 turnovers, while Memphis was held scoreless in that department thanks to a franchise-tying three turnovers by the Bulls.
Three.
Even Zach LaVine was impressed by that.
“I didn’t know that, I wish we could do that all the time,’’ LaVine said of the final turnover number. “If it was that easy, shoot. They’re an aggressive team, they play with their hands a lot. I think we did a good job of just making simple passes.’’
A simple explanation for what was much more significant than LaVine was letting on.
A loss, and any hope the Bulls had of moving out of that final play-in spot would have been in jeopardy with just four regular-season games left. That message seemed to go unheard to start the game.
Midway through the first, the Grizzlies lead was six. By the end of the first, it was 11. Then Memphis really started cooking, showing the Bulls the difference between play-off team and a play-in team.
By the time Luke Kennard hit a three from 25 feet out at the 5:07 mark of the half, the Grizzlies had built the lead to 23 points.
No problem.
While the Bulls have blown their share of 20-plus-point leads this season, they’ve also shown the ability to fight back from dark caverns. Halftime was critical in that department.
“You’ve got to find other ways to compete in the game,’’ Donovan said. “I thought the guys did a really good job of regrouping.’’
That they did in the third, in what could have been one of the more complete quarters the Bulls put together the entire season.
Every Memphis miss or mistake was capitalized on, as the Bulls scored 16 points off eight turnovers, ran off 13 fast-break points, shot 17-of-27 (63%) from the field, and did so with the energy of a team that suddenly understood urgency.
LaVine led the way with 12 points in that quarter, but had plenty of help from the likes of Patrick Williams and Coby White.
By the time the smoke settled going into the fourth, the Bulls had built a nine-point lead, outscoring Memphis 40-16.
“We played well [in the third], and I give them all the credit,’’ Donovan said. “You had to embrace adversity. It was a struggle [in the first half]. I like the way we responded.’’
A response that continued over the final 12 minutes, as the Bulls outscored the visiting team 35-23 in the fourth to put the game on ice.
“For sure,’’ LaVine said, when asked if it was the best second half of the season. “You’ve got to definitely pat yourself on the back.
“Every game has been like a must-win. These last four, you try and win every one and see where it might place you.’’