The Chicago Bulls ran out of gas a quarter mile from the finish line on Tuesday. The Bulls had carved a New Orleans Pelicans 13-point lead down to four points in less than two minutes. Every ounce of momentum in the building was behind the home team. And with 14 seconds left, the Bulls had the ball exactly where they wanted it — swung into the corner to give Coby White a wide-open look from behind the arc. But even though it was ideal, that look wasn’t enough. White missed. Lonzo Ball grabbed the rebound only to throw the ball away. And even as the Bulls scrambled back up the court to force a foul, it was already clear — there just wasn’t enough time to steal the game back. The final moments of the 119-113 loss were stuffed with the slapstick goofiness expected from a Tuesday night matchup between two sub-500 teams. Zion Williamson gave up an over-and-back turnover after calling for a pass from the wrong half, setting off a string of four combined turnovers in the final 76 seconds of play. Neither team had the game under control in the last 30 seconds of regulation. But the Bulls simply couldn’t land one final blow, falling two possessions short of pulling off the comeback. “We were close to maybe making a little miracle happen,” guard Zach LaVine said after the loss. “It might not be pretty, but sometimes you gotta win ugly games. Today was an uglier game. We just weren’t able to pull it out.” Here are six takeaways from the loss: 1. Zion Williamson showcased versatility. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson goes up for a basket during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) The Pelicans only played Zion Williamson for 24 minutes on Tuesday — but the big man made an impression in that condensed outing. Williamson asserted every aspect of his physicality in the win, swatting White’s attempt at a 3-pointer to close the first half and barreling through every defender who attempted to slow his path to the rim. While Williamson shot 10-for-14 from the floor to finish with 21 points, his passing was the most prominent feature of his offensive impact on Tuesday. Williamson tallied nine assists as he drew defenders only to dish the ball out, connecting with Jose Alvarado for two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. “That dude is a force,” LaVine said. “If he’s going left, you know you can’t stop it. He overpowers guys. But it’s his selflessness — because he had it going. He easily could just shoot a turnaround, shoot a little jump hook, but he would invite the double team, wait for the rotations and hit the right guy.” 2. Nikola Vučević started out hot. Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević (9) goes up for a basket during the first period against the New Orleans Pelicans at the United Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) In a battle of the bigs, center Nikola Vučević asserted himself early as the main source of offense for the Bulls. Vučević racked up double-digit scoring by the end of the first quarter, scoring 13 points in the opening frame. But that dominance didn’t last long as the Bulls struggled to find Vučević down the stretch, supplying him with only one shot attempt in the fourth quarter. The Bulls experimented with a two-big lineup in the second half, playing Vučević with Jalen Smith for their first meaningful rotations together of the season. The pair had logged only 17 possessions on the court together prior to Tuesday. While the added length helped the Bulls to alleviate the disadvantages created by the Pelicans’ crossmatching, it bogged down the offense as neither big succeeded in asserting themselves in the paint. 3. Zach LaVine took the first half off. After a six-game stretch of scoring at least 30 points per game, star guard Zach LaVine took a back-seat approach to the first half of Tuesday’s loss. LaVine missed his first six shots, finally scoring on a putback dunk with 1:12 left in the first half. He finished the first half with only two points on 1-for-7 shooting. LaVine snapped back into gear immediately in the second half, firing off a pair of 3-pointers and rattling off 13 points in the third quarter. He finished the game with a team-high 25 points while shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range, registering another efficient night of shooting. But the slow start ultimately resulted in the end of his streak of consistent 30-point scoring. Photos: New Orleans Pelicans 119, Chicago Bulls 113 4. The officiating crew went down a man. The difficulty of the game was intensified after referee Leon Wood exited in the first half with a hamstring injury. Karl Lane and Kevin Cutler continued as a crew of two for the remainder of the game. Coach Billy Donovan said both officials apologized throughout the second half for being obscured during certain plays, which led to missed calls for both teams. LaVine noted after the game that New Orleans forward Trey Murphy took as many free throws (12) as the entire Bulls roster. “Refereeing an NBA game with two officials is very difficult — that’s why they went to three,” Donovan said. 5. Lonzo Ball flexed confidence in his 3-point shot. Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball walks off the court in the final minute of the fourth period at the United Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) After playing through discomfort in the weeks after returning from a wrist sprain, Lonzo Ball is shooting with a newfound confidence from behind the 3-point arc after recording his third consecutive game with at least two 3-pointers. Ball sank three shots from behind the arc in Tuesday’s loss, hunting his 3-point shot and firing with a swiftness that prevented defenders from successfully closing out. He is now shooting 12-for-23 from behind the arc over the past three games, a stretch that reflects improvement in his shooting wrist. This sharpshooting from Ball was crucial for the Bulls, who shot only 14-for-43 from 3-point range against the Pelicans. Ball will not play in Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on a precautionary basis. The guard is unlikely to play in a back-to-back before the All-Star break. 6. The Bulls bungled the first game of a favorable stretch. Tuesday marked the first in a four-game stretch of winnable games for the Bulls, who will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and the Charlotte Hornets on Friday before hitting the road to face the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday. The Bulls have one of the lightest remaining schedules in the league, with an average opponent record of .486. This is favorable for the Bulls, who are still two games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers to hold onto the last spot of play-in contention in the Eastern Conference.