Bulls vs. Pelicans live score, updates, highlights from Josh Giddey’s Chicago debut

The Bulls are set to take on the Pelicans in Wednesday’s season opener.

Both of these teams have made big changes since last season. For the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso are gone. In their place is Josh Giddey and a new youth movement highlighted by No. 11 pick Matas Buzelis. 

The Pelicans have made their own changes, trading for Dejounte Murray who will be a game time decision. Zion Williamson will miss the game with illness, while Trey Murphy III is out due to a hamstring injury. 

Below, The Sporting News’ Steph Noh will provide live updates throughout Wednesday’s game, giving his analysis and sharing some highlights as they happen. Follow as this live blog is updated frequently throughout tonight’s action. 

SN’s NBA HQ: Live NBA scores | Updated NBA standings | Full NBA schedule

Josh Giddey live statsPoints: 9Rebounds: 5Assists:3Steals: 0Blocks: 0Turnovers: 2FGs: 3-83Ps: 0-1Bulls vs. Pelicans score Q1Q2Q3Q4FinalBulls253325083Pelicans 293036095MORE: Inside Josh Giddey’s ‘All-Star potential’ and tricky fit on Bulls roster

Bulls vs. Pelicans live updates, results, highlights from Josh Giddey’s Chicago debut(All times Eastern)

9:55 p.m.: Jones hits a 3 a millisecond after the buzzer, but the Pelicans still lead the Bulls 95-83 after three quarters. New Orleans’ defense ramped up, and the Bulls allowed them to get in transition too often. 

9:50 p.m.: Herb Jones has re-entered the game. Looks like he’s okay.

Ayo Dosunmu is giving the Bulls energy off the bench, as he usually does. He’s pushed the pace and gotten some good looks at the basket

Giddey continues to be aggressive at the basket but has gotten his layups erased three times now. It’s creating runouts the other way for the Pelicans. 

White has gotten into trouble in this game when he’s dribbled into traffic and turned it over. He’s starting to pick it up by pushing the pace and getting some easy early looks at the rim.

9:40 p.m.: The Pelicans are blitzing LaVine out of halftime, forcing anyone else to beat them. The Bulls haven’t dealt well with that defensive pressure, turning it over constantly in this third quarter. LaVine and White have been sloppy with their handle. 

LaVine has been forcing a bit more in this quarter, airballing a stepback as the Bulls are starting to fall out of this.

Ball stopped the bleeding with an uncontested layup thanks to a great seal from Vucevic and a beautiful lob pass to LaVine.

We all missed this. pic.twitter.com/wyxxzeSkyH

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 24, 20249:30 p.m.: The Bulls open the third quarter the same way that they started the game, with a Giddey-Vucevic pick-and-roll for a score. Vucevic throws it down for an and-one as Herb Jones goes down hard on his tailbone. 

Ingram is starting to heat up and abuse some of the Bulls’ poorer defenders. He’s got two layups, part of the six layups and a 3 that the Pelicans have to open up an eight-point lead and force a Donovan timeout with a little over 8 minutes left.

The Bulls have been sloppy with the ball during this opening third quarter stretch, allowing the Pelicans to get some easy run outs. 

9:10 p.m.: It’s Zach LaVine’s world, we’re just living in it. 

LaVine has kept the Bulls in the game with his insane shooting. He’s 5-6 from deep now, with his only miss coming off a deep heat check. He’s got 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting at the half.

Zach LaVine has lost his everlasting mind pic.twitter.com/s1h0ST9mKw

— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) October 24, 2024Giddey has been the other main weapon. He’s putting effective pressure on the rim and being aggressive on those drives. 

Jalen Smith has provided eight points off the bench, finishing strong through contact for two and-ones. 

The Bulls planned to shoot more 3’s this year, and it’s holding up through halftime. They’re 7-23 from deep. They averaged just 32 per game last year. They trail the Pelicans 59-58. 

9:00 p.m.: Giddey is setting the table for the Bulls’ offense. He blows by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl for a layup early in the second quarter. He splits the defense for another layup. 

Rookie Matas Buzelis entered for his first shift with 9 minutes left in the quarter. He’s the 11th man that Donovan has played tonight. He’s immediately tasked with guarding Brandon Ingram. He stayed in front of Ingram on his first drive, then forced a miss on an Ingram 3. He also airballed his first 3, wide open from the corner, then missed another from the opposite corner. 

LaVine has been nuclear hitting 3’s, drilling deep ones and step-backs for 4-4 shooting from 3 so far. He’s got 16 points on only eight shots including one acrobatic layup. 

8:45 p.m.: That Bulls bench unit was not impressive. Billy Donovan called a quick timeout after Jalen Smith didn’t recover to a 3-point shooter, then Ayo Dosunmu turned it over on Donovan’s ensuing playcall, much to the coach’s distress. Julian Phillips had a nice take to the rim.

Giddey checked in for his second stint. He’s been booed by New Orleans fans every time he’s touched the ball. He was stuffed at the rim by rookie Yves Missi on a fast break layup and later had a putback off his own miss. 

The Bulls end the first quarter trailing 29-25.

8:35 p.m.:Lonzo Ball checks in with a little over 6 minutes left in the first quarter. It’s his first game in 1013 days. He showed a little bit of rust early on, throwing it away on a turnover and getting beat off the dribble by CJ McCollum the other way. He followed it up with a 3 on his first shot attempt

First shot attempt for Lonzo Ball in 1013 days pic.twitter.com/omaK0q5CwP

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 24, 20248:25 p.m.: Dejounte Murray is a go for this one. The Bulls defense didn’t know the game plan from the opening play. Not a great sign for them. 

Bulls defense is not on the same page from the first play.

Vooch goes to blitz Ingram and nobody is helping behind him. Uncontested layup for the Pels. pic.twitter.com/VGOWZinnE4

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 24, 2024On the other end of the floor, the Bulls opened with a Giddey-Vucevic pick-and-roll, leading to a push shot layup for Vucevic. 

Giddey has struggled early. The Pelicans have been ignoring him from the outside, and he hasn’t been able to make them pay with 3’s. The Bulls look like they’re playing with faster pace, keeping it close early. 

6:19 p.m.: Zion Williamson (non-COVID illness) has been ruled out, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported.

5:30 p.m.: The new-look Bulls aren’t expected to win this game — they’re 5.5-point underdogs, and their over/under is set at a paltry 28.5 wins. Internally, however, they believe that they can surprise people. This writer is skeptical that it will happen. (I have the Bulls as one of my best under bets). 

Based on preseason, Chicago will play a lot faster and shoot more 3s. It should be a more entertaining offensive style. Whether the Bulls can guard anyone is going to be a much bigger question.

Will readers see a victory cat at the end of the night? We’ll see what happens at 8 p.m. ET!

Bulls vs. Pelicans start timeDate: Wednesday, Oct. 23Time: 8:00 p.m. ET | 7:00 p.m. CTThe Bulls and Pelicans will take the floor at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Oct. 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET, which is 7:00 p.m. local time.

How to watch Bulls vs. PelicansTV channel: CHSN (Chicago) | WVUE (New Orleans)Live stream: NBA League PassWednesday’s duel between the Bulls vs. Pelicans can be viewed locally in Chicago on CHSN and WVUE in New Orleans. 

The game will be available on NBA League Pass outside of Chicago and New Orleans.