Bulls' Boylen after LaVine's big night: 'My job is to push the guy'

Mission accomplished?

Less than 24 hours after Chicago Bulls coach Jim Boylen pulled Zach LaVine early in the first quarter during Friday's loss to the Miami Heat, LaVine responded Saturday with a career-high 49 points in a comeback win over the Charlotte Hornets.

"I've always said Zach is a really good guy and a good person and he wants to do well," Boylen said after Chicago's 116-115 victory, according to The Associated Press. "My job is to push the guy to a place he can't take himself and that happens sometimes with tough conversations, meetings, and maybe some uncomfortable moments, but that's what my job is. The credit needs to go to him and his focus, energy, and his effort."

That effort included LaVine hitting 13 treys on Saturday, joining Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as the only NBA players ever to do so in a single game. The Bulls trailed by eight points with 41 seconds remaining, but they fought back and clinched the win on LaVine's three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left on the clock.

Boylen and LaVine met in the coach's hotel suite earlier Saturday to hash out their differences, according to NBC's K.C. Johnson. That meeting followed Friday's home game where Boylen removed LaVine in the first quarter. After that contest, LaVine questioned the coach's trust in him, while Boylen said he'd pulled the 24-year-old because of three "egregious" defensive mistakes.

"This is a big game for us morally," LaVine said after Saturday's win. "Everybody’s energy is up. We've been playing good in stretches. We just executed perfectly down the stretch. Obviously, we got blessed a little with some luck. We can take this energy and move this on to the next game, keep this energy high. Hopefully, this is that turning point for us. Every team has one. This could be a big step for us in the right direction."