Trail Blazers Vs Bulls — Portland wins 121-112 as Chicago endures historic February slide

Emerson Raymont

Published: February 27, 2026 6:41 AM ET

In the Feb. 26, 2026 matchup, the trail blazers vs bulls finished 121-112 in Portland, a result that compounded Chicago’s worst month in franchise history and kept Portland fighting for a play-in spot.

Trail Blazers Vs Bulls

Portland beat Chicago 121-112 on Feb. 26, 2026, a game that the Trail Blazers carried when Jerami Grant finished with 27 points. The loss left the Bulls with a string of consecutive defeats that different accounts described differently: one account called it the 11th consecutive loss, while another described it as the 12th straight loss. The game included 20 turnovers by the Bulls and a late sequence when a dunk by Leonard Miller cut the deficit to three with 3: 37 left; Portland then outscored Chicago 13-7 to close the game.

Portland standouts: Grant, Williams and Krejci

Jerami Grant led Portland with 27 points. Robert Williams III, listed as a Trail Blazers contributor in the coverage, played 23 minutes and produced 14 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Vit Krejci added 14 points in 19 minutes on 5-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-8 from three, plus 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Matisse Thybulle played 12 minutes, scoring 5 points on 2-for-4 shooting (including a three), and also had 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks, described as showing his disruptive defensive impact.

Bulls’ roster, front office and coaching tensions

The Bulls fell 121-112 and wrapped February with an 0-11 month, the worst month in franchise history. Chicago’s record in the coverage was given as 24-36. Executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley were described as having a different institutional perspective than coach Billy Donovan, a coach noted as coming from Rockville Centre, New York and continuing to spend long nights trying to find wins with a reshuffled roster. Donovan said of conversations after the trade deadline: "The discussions I had with them when the trade deadline was finalized was, 'Nothing has changed, try and get these guys to play to the best of their ability; we know it's going to be somewhat challenging with seven new players. ' Even talking to ownership, it's been, 'Hey, go out there and do your very best. ' There has been no indication from ownership or the front office of, 'Hey, listen, if we finish here, here or here' or 'Listen, don't worry about playing these guys; just play these guys. ' There's been none of that at all. 'Philosophically, I get the dynamics once June, whatever date that draft date is, I get how that impacts all of that. It's not like I'm sitting over there saying, 'Well, it's a close game right now, let's sit Josh [Giddey] and Tre [Jones] and Jalen [Smith]. ' There has not been that. And I think if I did do that, they would say, 'Listen, you need to put the best guys out there. '" The coverage also noted that the front office traded some of the team's better players, which was described as making clear its stance on roster direction.

What players and fans noticed

Matas Buzelis scored 20 points for Chicago but shot 6-for-16. Forward Isaac Okoro was quoted saying, "We're not making excuses; we don't think we're 11-game-losing-streak bad. At this point, we just have to come to the game focused and do the little things right. " The context that contained Okoro's remarks also included the trailing word "Block" with unclear continuation in the provided material. Coverage noted Donovan Clingan was sidelined by illness for the Bulls, and that small-ball lineups and disruptive defense from Portland helped create enough havoc to tilt the contest in Portland's favor. One noted broadcast annoyance from the game coverage criticized lengthy off-topic chatter by commentators during extended stretches of play.

Next stops and schedule

Portland's next scheduled game on the road was listed as Charlotte on Saturday, with a local start time of 10: 00 a. m. Pacific — 1: 00 p. m. ET. For the Bulls, the immediate confirmed items in the coverage were focused on recovery from the month-long skid and internal discussions about lineup and roster use moving forward.