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Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls shoots Kevon Looney of the Golden State Warriors during the first half at the United Center on January 15, 2023 in Chicago, (Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES – Nikola Vucevic produced a masterpiece 43 points as the Chicago Bulls defeated the NBA champion Golden State Warriors 132-118 on Sunday.
Montenegro star Vucevic had his ninth straight double-double after stepping up without the injured DeMar DeRozan to help the Bulls snap a three-game losing streak at Chicago’s United Center.
Vucevic’s performance was central to a balanced offensive display all round by Chicago, which saw six players finish in double figures.
Zach LaVine added 27 points, Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu had 12 points. Coby White added 15 off the bench.
“I went too early,” Vucevic said after going 18-for-31 from the field with five three-pointers. “It’s hard to explain. You can just feel that this is going to be your night and you’re just rolling.
“We really moved the ball. We really played aggressive offensively and I was able to get into my position.
The win was the perfect tonic for the Bulls (20-24) as they head to Paris next week for a regular season game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
But the loss was another wake-up call for the struggling Warriors, the reigning NBA champions who are in eighth place in the Western Conference standings with a 21-22 record.
Klay Thompson led Golden State’s scoring with 26 points, but the Warriors still scored at the cost of 23 turnovers.
“We had trouble making good decisions about good decisions,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
“That’s what this game is about – at both ends. You’re not always going to make shots but can you make an attack without turning the ball over?
“Can you do the defense again and again?…We’re not strong enough to do it right now.”
Meanwhile, Kerr refused to make excuses for the defeat.
“You can make all kinds of excuses but it doesn’t matter,” Kerr said. “Everybody has their reasons, everybody’s injured with guys coming in and out of the rotation. We just have to get better.”
In Sunday’s other game, Julius Randle scored a season-high 42 points as the New York Knicks won their third straight with a 117-104 loss to Detroit.
Randle also had 15 rebounds, while teammate Jalen Brunson finished with 27 points in a thrilling victory for the Knicks, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was left reeling from Randle’s performance on defense and offense.
“The rebounding was just huge. He got every rebound big,” Thibodeau said. “He was everywhere.
“He was on the perimeter guarding the guards and stuff. I thought he was awesome.
In Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard and Terance Mann combined for 61 points in the Clippers’ 121-100 win over the Houston Rockets. Mann posted 31 points, while Leonard added 30 as the league-worst Rockets fell to their 10th loss.
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