DeRozan, Vucevic lead Bulls to 101-91 win over Cavaliers
CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 on Saturday night.
Ayo Dosunmu made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Bulls, who came away with their second straight win after losing five in a row even though they were missing Zach LaVine. The two-time All-Star was sidelined because of lingering soreness in his left knee.
DeRozan shot just 9 of 26 in the game, but the five-time All-Star scored 17 points in the first half, including nailing a buzzer-beating jumper from the wing over Isaac Okoro and Kevin Love. That sent Chicago to the locker room with a 53-42 lead, and the Bulls remained in control the rest of the way.
Vucevic recorded his 38th double-double. Alex Caruso added 11 points and four steals in his return from a broken right wrist, and the Bulls came out on top in a matchup of teams jockeying for playoff positioning in the crowded Eastern Conference.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 25 points, though he was 9 of 24 from the field. Evan Mobley had 17 points and seven rebounds. But the Cavaliers lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: F Lauri Markkanen missed the game because of a sore right ankle after tweaking it in Friday's loss at Miami. The 7-footer from Finland missed 11 games in late January and February because of a sprained right ankle. ... All-Star C Jarrett Allen (broken finger on his left hand) missed his third game in a row.
Bulls: G Alex Caruso got a nice ovation when he checked into the game and played 29 minutes after being sidelined since Jan. 21 because of a broken right wrist. He was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by Grayson Allen while driving to the basket during a game at Milwaukee, resulting in an injury that required surgery and caused him to miss 22 games. ... The fact LaVine wasn't able to play even though they had two days off after winning at Detroit on Wednesday to stop a five-game losing streak did not seem to raise extra alarms for coach Billy Donovan. "It's not necessarily him regressing," Donovan said. "It's just something that he's going to have to manage and deal with throughout the course of the season." Lavine missed the final three games before the All-Star break. The high-flying guard had platelet-rich plasma therapy, a cortisone injection and fluid drained in Los Angeles, hoping the treatment will help him get through the remainder of the season.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Bulls: Visit Sacramento on Monday.