Steph Curry scores 32 in return as Warriors beat Bulls

FILE – Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors high fives Kent Bazemore #26, Stephen Curry #30 and Juan Toscano-Anderson #95, during the first quarter of a game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on March 17, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Carmen Mandato / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Stephen Curry returned from a five-game absence to lead all scorers with 32 points Monday night, guiding the Golden State Warriors to a 116-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls in San Francisco.

Curry, who watched the Warriors lose four of five games while nursing a bruised tailbone, connected on six 3-pointers and shot 11-for-24 overall en route to his 18th 30-point game of his season.

32 for 30 through 3Q on League Pass. pic.twitter.com/K7Yn0IKwXR

— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2021

Nikola Vucevic, who burned Golden State for 30 and 25 points in two meetings while with the Orlando Magic earlier in the season, paced the Bulls with 21 points.

Two teams saddled with losing streaks were never separated by more than five points in the first half, and Golden State led just 80-78 with 4:35 left in the third period before pulling away.

Curry had nine consecutive Warriors points in a 16-7 burst to close the quarter, allowing the host to take a 96-85 lead into the final period.

Golden State went on to lead by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter en route to ending a four-game losing streak.

Andrew Wiggins added 21 points for the Warriors, who beat the Bulls for the eighth straight time.

Draymond Green dished off a game-high nine assists to complement 11 points for Golden State, while Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 18 points and James Wiseman 12.

Oubre was the game’s leading rebounder with 11.

Wiggins and Green had three 3-pointers each for the Warriors, who were outshot 52.4 percent to 50 percent by the Bulls, but outscored their guests 48-18 from beyond the arc.

Playing for just the second time since being acquired by the Bulls, Vucevic had a team-high nine rebounds and six assists.

Patrick Williams and Tomas Satoransky had 14 points apiece and Lauri Markkanen 13 for the Bulls, who lost their fourth in a row and second straight to begin a four-game trip.

Chicago’s leading scorer, Zach LaVine, was held to 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting, while Thaddeus Young had 10 points.

LaVine’s point total was his second-lowest of the season. He had 10 points in a win at Dallas in January.