Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead a balanced attack as the Chicago Bulls cruised to a 130-116 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and 10 assists, Zach LaVine scored 20 points, Coby White added 18 and Javonte Green scored a season-high 16 for Chicago, which led by as many as 19 in the third quarter. At 31-18, the Bulls matched their win total from last season.
CJ McCollum paced Portland with 29 points. Norman Powell scored 22 points and Anfernee Simons added 21, while Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points apiece.
Ayo Dosunmu tallied a career-high 11 assists for Chicago, which carried a 104-92 lead into the fourth quarter.
Matt Thomas scored five straight points to put the Bulls ahead 117-99 with 8:09 remaining, and Portland struggled to mount a final charge down the stretch.
The Blazers opened the contest with a 35-29 lead after shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the first quarter, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
Chicago outscored the Blazers 44-30 in the second quarter and held a 73-65 advantage at the half. Vucevic, DeRozan and LaVine combined for 40 points in the first half for the Bulls.
Chicago extended its lead to 94-75 with 5:04 left in the third quarter before Portland responded with a 13-2 run and pulled within 96-88 on Ben McLemore’s 3-pointer.
Tony Bradley had a season-high 10 points for the Bulls, who have won three of their last four games.
Simons made 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and has made at least four 3-pointers in seven straight games, matching a Portland franchise record.
Chicago shot 55.6 percent from the field and outscored the Blazers 52-36 in the paint.
Portland lost despite shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 18 of 39 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
