CHICAGO (670 The Score) – With one of the Bulls' stars sidelined by injury and another dealing with an ailing shooting hand, center Nikola Vucevic stepped up in timely fashion Sunday afternoon.
Vucevic matched a career-high with 43 points and added 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the Bulls to a 132-118 win against the Warriors at the United Center. Vucevic was dominant throughout, shooting 18-of-31 overall, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, to give the Bulls a much-needed boost as forward DeMar DeRozan missed his third straight game with a quad injury and guard Zach LaVine (27 points on 7-of-18 shooting) struggled with his jump shot as he played through a right hand contusion.
Vucevic's big game was crucial after the Bulls struggled for long stretches offensively in a loss to the Wizards on Wednesday and a loss to the Thunder on Friday before bouncing back Sunday.
"I was just getting in my spots really," Vucevic said. "I was playing in a way that really fits my game. It all happened within the flow of the game. I was involved a lot, and I was able to be myself. I think the first two games we played (without DeMar), it was an adjustment for everyone, and we got stagnant a lot of times. We were kind of playing a little bit too fast, kind of out of control in trying to figure it out without DeMar instead of kind of slowing the game down and playing within the strengths of whatever players are out there at that moment. I think it was just wasn't a good showing offensively for us the last two games. We didn't really play to our strengths, whereas tonight, it was much better. The ball was moving. We were attacking. We were getting downhill, driving and kicking. It was easy then. That's how I got most of my points. I didn't really have a lot of points where I was going one-on-one."
Vucevic previously scored 43 points on Feb. 5, 2021 as a member of the Magic in a win against the Bulls. Less than two months later, Chicago acquired him in a trade with Orlando.
Since the Bulls added DeRozan ahead of the 2021-'22 season, Vucevic has been the No. 3 offensive option with Chicago.
"When I get in my spots and I'm able to play within my strengths, I feel like I'm a very efficient player," Vucevic said. "That's not the first time I've done this. So I know I can do this. It's just getting me in my spots.
"It feels great. When you have a 40-point game, it always great. Obviously for me, it was an adjustment going from being the main focus offensively, being the main scorer (with the Magic) to kind of being the third option and figuring it out. And also being a big man, you depend a lot on other guys. So some games for me, I'll get 15 or 20 shots. And some games it will be like seven or eight. So for me, it's an adjustment. Obviously tonight, we played in a way that I was really able to show my strengths and my qualities. It was great for me to take advantage of it and have a good night. But it was also important because we needed this win. I know I'm capable of it. I know how good I am, especially on the offensive end. It's just me finding my spots and playing that way."
Vucevic is shooting 52.4% this season, which is on pace to be a career-best mark as the season has just progressed past the midway point.
"Extremely aggressive," LaVine said of Vucevic. "You could see from the get-go, he had the hot hand. We played off of him. That's what you can do when you've got a guy like that. It was great. He had a rolling. He said he hadn't felt like that in a while."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
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