Balanced attack carries Bulls past Grizzlies
Jan 20, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) defends against Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) during the first half at the United Center. credits: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports Ayo Dosunmu scored 20 points off the bench and DeMar DeRozan added 18 to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 125-96 win against the visiting Memphis Grizzles on Saturday.
Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond notched double-doubles as seven players scored in double figures for the Bulls, who won for the third time in four games. The Grizzlies, who shot just 31 percent from beyond the arc, have lost four of five.
Coby White added 17 points for Chicago while Patrick Williams and Drummond each had 15. Drummond grabbed 10 rebounds, one shy of Vucevic, who snagged a game-high 11 boards to go with 11 points. Reserve Jevon Carter added 12 points for the Bulls.
Jaren Jackson Jr. paced Memphis with a game-high 26 points. Luke Kennard and Vince Williams Jr. followed with 14 points each, David Roddy added 11 and GG Jackson had 10.
Santi Aldama had eight rebounds for Memphis, which was minus-20 on the glass and had three offensive rebounds to Chicago's 13.
Memphis took little time whittling down Chicago's 10-point halftime edge. The Grizzlies started the third quarter on a 15-3 run over the first 3:27. They took a 55-53 lead on a Jackson Jr. floater — two of his seven points during the surge.
Chicago missed five straight field-goal attempts to start the third quarter but regrouped quickly. Whistled for a technical foul early in the third quarter, DeRozan bookended a 17-0 Bulls run with jumpers to take a 70-55 lead. White's trey with 7:51 left broke the 55-55 tie and gave the Bulls the lead for good, with Dosunmu and Alex Caruso adding treys over the next 53 seconds.
DeRozan had a game-high eight assists.
Chicago took a 50-40 halftime lead behind a balanced attack that featured little contribution from one of its hottest players.
White, who entered the night averaging 22.2 points over nine games this month, didn't score until the second quarter. A 13-2 Bulls run to start the quarter, which put the hosts ahead by 15 points, also didn't feature a point from White, although he contributed two rebounds and two assists. He finally scored on a pullup shot with 4:39 left in the second.
Zach LaVine missed the game for the Bulls with a sprained right ankle.
—Field Level Media