Coby White recorded 21 points and eight rebounds and Nikola Vucevic added 19 and 12, respectively, lifting the visiting Chicago Bulls to a 127-108 victory over the reeling Washington Wizards on Tuesday in an NBA Cup East Group C game.
White sank five 3-pointers and Zach LaVine drained four to highlight his 18-point performance.
The Bulls benefited from a decisive second quarter in which they outscored the Wizards by a 40-18 margin.
Talen Horton-Tucker scored 13 points, Jalen Smith and Ayo Dosunmu each had 12 and Josh Giddey added 11 to go along with eight assists to help Chicago send Washington to its 12th consecutive loss.
The Bulls shot a robust 50.0 percent from the floor and made 19 of 22 free-throw attempts.
Washington’s Kyle Kuzma recorded 23 points and seven rebounds and rookie Alexandre Sarr added 20 and seven, respectively. Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 15 points and six boards for the Wizards, who last tasted victory following their home-and-home sweep of the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 28 and 30.
Washington’s Jordan Poole sat out his second straight game due to left hip flexor soreness.
Kyshawn George drained a 3-pointer to stake the Wizards to a 39-36 lead midway through the second quarter before Chicago ignited a 25-8 run to end the half. White scored seven points during that final spurt for the Bulls.
Chicago kept its foot on the gas to begin the third quarter, with White and LaVine each sinking a 3-pointer while LaVine’s driving layup capped their team’s 16-9 run to push the Bulls’ lead to 77-56.
Washington slowly chipped away at its deficit, with Sarr’s 3-pointer cutting Chicago’s lead to 101-90 in the fourth quarter. The Bulls responded with a quick flourish, as Julian Phillips converted a three-point play and Smith added a hook shot. The Wizards did not seriously threaten the rest of the way.
Kuzma scored 15 points in the first quarter to propel Washington to a 29-21 lead. The Wizards scored 16 points in the paint and benefited from Chicago’s paltry 1-for-13 shooting performance from the arc.
–Field Level Media