By Richard Kagan

The losses are starting to pile up. The Chicago Bulls lost to the equally inept Sacramento Kings, 107-106 on Friday night.

The Bulls played a pedestrian game, where they had a small lead but couldn’t hold it, or trailed by 2 points and couldn’t seize the lead. This game was winnable. Except the Bulls don’t have the requisite fire-power to seize control of a game.

Jerian Grant scored 17 points in a reserve role. Robin Lopez had 14 and Lauri Markkanen also had 14 points. Six Bulls scored in double – figures but it wasn’t enough.

The Kings were led by Zach Randolph’s low post presence.  He scored 25 points along with 13 rebounds in the contest. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 points for the Kings.

Chicago lost its 8th game in a row and next opponent is Cleveland with LeBron James. Dwyane Wade will make his return to Chicago as a member of the Cavs.

The Kings hit 53% of its shots. The Bulls made 47% of its shots. They hit 36% of three pointers but it wasn’t enough.

The Bulls could have fared better in this battle of the bottom in the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Bulls just didn’t have the answers in this game. Last night they played Denver tough but lost in the closing seconds on a Will Barton layup to give Denver a one point lead. That basket was seconds after Kris Dunn made one for the Bulls to put them up by one. Dunn played well in that game but tonight he wasn’t a factor.

A good sign is that F Nikola Mirotic is nearing a return to court action. It’s been reported that he forgave Bobby Porter and now wants to be a part of the team and play for the Bulls. Whether or not Portis knows how Mirotic feels, is another issue.  But Mirotic should be in a Bulls uniform in a matter of days.  There are still question marks surrounding this soap-opera saga, but it appears Mirotic wants to play.

He will be a welcome addition.