FILE–Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP
Zach LaVine scored 29 points, Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 15 rebounds and the visiting Chicago Bulls beat the Denver Nuggets 117-96 on Wednesday night.
Patrick Williams scored 18 points and DeMar DeRozan added 17 for the Bulls, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Aaron Gordon scored 17 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 12 and Jamal Murray finished with 11 for the Nuggets, who had their eight-game home winning streak snapped.
Denver’s last home loss came Jan. 22 to Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets led by 10 in the first quarter, but Chicago erased most of its deficit by the start of the second. The Bulls outscored Denver 26-23 in the second quarter to trail just 52-51 at halftime, and then they dominated out of the break.
COME FLY WITH ME! ✈️@ZachLaVine | @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/BQWZ6NhtOo
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 9, 2023
After the Nuggets scored the first five points of the third quarter, Chicago took over. Vucevic hit a 3-pointer and LaVine made a layup and had a fastbreak dunk to help put the Bulls up 68-63. Bruce Brown broke the streak with a layup, but Chicago kept adding to its lead.
Vucevic made two free throws and Patrick Beverley, LaVine and Williams hit 3-pointers on an 11-1 run that made it 79-66.
Denver crept within five, but the Bulls took an 87-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
DeRozan scored the first three points of the period before Vucevic converted a three-point play and made a hook shot after two free throws by Murray.
Williams had a layup and a tip-in to put the Bulls ahead 99-80 and force a Nuggets timeout.
Jokic hit a 3-pointer and was driving to the bucket to cut the deficit to 14 but Williams stripped him, which led to a DeRozan dunk.
Murray missed a 3-pointer on the other end and LaVine drained one from 26 feet out to make it 104-83. Jokic made his third 3-pointer of the night, but Coby White answered with one from deep and Chicago closed it out.