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Bulls win 4th straight after 3-20 start; undefeated since Mirotic's return

Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Chicago Bulls - and big man Nikola Mirotic - are finally starting to fight back.

After starting the season 3-20, the Bulls are undefeated in their last four outings. That includes a 23-point blowout of the Eastern Conference-leading (but Kyrie Irving-less) Boston Celtics, plus wins over the Jazz, Hornets, and Knicks, all with realistic expectations of fighting for a playoff spot.

The Bulls have done so largely without two of their most important players. Zach LaVine has yet to make his team debut due to his recovery from knee surgery, and rookie forward Lauri Markkanen has sat out the last two games with back spasms.

Coincidentally, the Bulls' newfound winning ways line up with Mirotic's Dec. 12 season debut. The start of the 26-year-old's season was notably derailed by a concussion and facial fracture stemming from a preseason skirmish with teammate Bobby Portis.

In those four contests, Mirotic has averaged 19.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, and 52.1 percent shooting from 3-point territory. The Bulls, who ranked dead-last in point differential in their abominable start to the year, have outscored opponents by an average of nine points on their streak.

The Bulls will look to extend their winning streak to five Friday in Milwaukee against the Bucks, yet another mid-tier team with postseason aspirations. If Mirotic and Co. can pull off the upset, it would be the franchise's longest streak since the 2015-16 season, when Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol, and Mirotic won six in a row between the end of December and beginning of January.

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