CHICAGO — Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 34 points, Nikola Vucevic added 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards 127-98 on Saturday night.
The Bulls made it look easy against the team with the worst record in the NBA, with Dosunmu and Vucevic setting the tone. They led by 22 at halftime and were never threatened after the break.
Dosunmu, whose previous high was 29 points in a win at Atlanta last month, made four 3-pointers. The third-year professional matched his season high with nine assists.
Dosunmu said he keeps a journal to track his progress. And there is a noticeable difference from a year ago.
“I wrote down where I was last year because I knew I wasn’t the player I wanted to be,” said Dosunmu, a Chicago product who played at Illinois. ” I worked a lot. “
Coach Billy Donovan said Dosunmu was a constant presence at the team’s practice facility during the offseason. And the work is paying off.
“I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement for him,” Donovan said. “I think he had to figure out some things on his own, just talking to him a little bit about how he was being guarded. … It’s really hard to play to his strengths – which for him are in transition in the open court, attacking the paint – if you’re never a threat to shoot.
Alex Caruso scored 16. DeMar DeRozan added 13 points – despite making just seven shots – and six assists. The Bulls shot about 58% and outscored the Wizards in the paint, 68-46.
The Wizards fell to 4-20 under interim coach Brian Keefe with their third straight loss and 19th in 21 games.
“They were able to put the ball in the paint, score in the paint, offensive rebound in the paint,” Keefe said. “We probably didn’t put up enough resistance at the start of the match. But as the game progressed, our combat got better. So I was happy with that.
Corey Kispert led Washington with 16 points and Bilal Coulibaly scored 15.
The Bulls didn’t wait too long to put this one away, outscoring the Wizards 67-45 in the first half behind 18 points each from Vucevic and Dosunmu.
Vucevic also grabbed seven rebounds, while Dosunmu had four assists. Caruso added 11 points.
Washington took a brief 19-16 lead after Justin Champagnie hit a 3 with four minutes left in the first quarter, but the Bulls responded by burying the Wizards.
Dosunmu made a finger layup and Caruso made a 3, sparking a 17-3 run that extended into the second. The lead grew to 24 on a Vucevic hook, making the score 63-39 with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Bulls were once again without one of their best players, with guard Coby White missing his second straight game with a strained right hip. Donovan said the team hopes to have him back within the next week.
White was injured when the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam blocked his layup and landed on him near the end of regulation in Chicago’s overtime win over Indiana on Wednesday.
FOLLOWING
Wizards: Host Boston on Sunday.
Bulls: Host Portland on Monday.
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