Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 34 points, Nikola Vučević added 29 points and 13 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls pounded the Washington Wizards 127-98 on Saturday night at the United Center.
The Bulls made it look easy against the team with the NBA’s worst record with Dosunmu and Vucevic setting the tone. They led by 22 at halftime and never were threatened after the break.
Dosunmu, whose previous high was 29 points in a win at Atlanta last month, made four 3-pointers. He matched a season best with nine assists.
Alex Caruso scored 16. DeMar DeRozan added 13 points — despite taking just seven shots — and six assists.
The Wizards fell to 4-20 under interim coach Brian Keefe with their third straight loss and 19th in 21 games.
Corey Kispert led Washington with 16 points, and Bilal Coulibaly scored 15.
The Bulls didn’t wait too long to put this one away, outscoring the Wizards 67-45 in the first half behind 18 points each from Vučević and Dosunmu.
Vučević also grabbed seven rebounds, while Dosunmu had four assists. Caruso added 11 points, and Chicago shot 60% in the half.
The Wizards took a brief 19-16 lead after Justin Champagnie hit a 3 with four minutes left in the first quarter, but the Bulls responded by burying the Wizards.
Dosunmu drove for a finger-roll layup and Caruso made a 3, sparking a 17-3 run that stretched into the second. The lead reached 24 on a hook by Vučević making it 63-39 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
The Bulls were without one of their top players again with guard Coby White missing his second consecutive game because of a strained right hip. Coach Billy Donovan said the team hopes to have him back within the next week.
White was hurt when the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam blocked his layup and landed on him near the end of regulation in the Bulls’ overtime road win against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Andrew Seligman , 2024-03-17 04:16:53
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