CHICAGO _ Here's what you do when Kris Dunn is a late scratch with left patella tendinitis: You post six points, five assists and three rebounds to set the tone in the first quarter as Jerian Grant did on his way to finishing with 11 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.
Here's what you do when you're the Bulls leading scorer and get just four shots last game: You come out firing as Nikola Mirotic did, scoring 14 of his 28 points in his first six minutes and knocking down eight 3-pointers, one off the franchise record he shares with Ben Gordon.
Here's what you do when you blow a 17-point lead to lose a 10th straight game and drop to 3-20, as the Bulls did in Indianapolis against the Pacers on Dec. 6: You step on their throats early and never let up, like the Bulls did at the United Center Friday night.
The 119-107 cakewalk marked the Bulls' third straight victory and 10th win in 12 games. It's also the franchise's first seven-game home win streak since one that bridged the end of the 2012-13 and start of 2013-14 seasons.
The Bulls, who also got a career-high 32 points from Lauri Markkanen, tied a franchise record with 18 3-pointers and tied a season-high with 31 assists.
"Guys did a great job finding me and Lauri," Mirotic said.
This resurgence began with the Dec. 8 road victory over the Hornets the game after the aforementioned late collapse to the Pacers. Or, to hear coach Fred Hoiberg tell it, the resurgence began on the flight from Indianapolis to Charlotte.
"You could see it in guys' faces. They were very disappointed," Hoiberg said. "The encouraging thing is when we got into the gym at University of Charlotte that next day, we had a very productive film session. We watched the entire fourth quarter, the good things that happened early and how we collapsed late and missed plays by drawing two (defenders) and not trusting teammates. There was a lot of constructive criticism in that film. We grew from it.
"Our guys are playing with great intensity and effort every time they step on the floor. We're playing through adversity better now than we were earlier in the season."
Other than Dunn's minor setback, the Bulls faced little adversity from the Pacers, building a 12-point, first-quarter lead and never looking back. Darren Collison's 30 points led the Pacers, who played without leading scorer Victor Oladipo.
Markkanen sank five 3-pointers but also had a nasty tip slam over Bojan Bogdanovic.
