Bulls Survive a Winding Road, Defeat Trail Blazers 118-113

On Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers traveled to the United Center to face the Chicago Bulls for the second and final time in the 2024-25 NBA regular season.

In their previous matchup on January 19, 2025, the Bulls suffered a 113-102 defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers.

How to Play A Half Of Mid Basketball By your Chicago Bulls Shoot 6/13 on above-the-break 3PAs in the first half Commit 10 turnovers in the first half pic.twitter.com/K10Ctpmv4y The rematch between the Bulls and Trail Blazers was four quarters of juxtaposed basketball that featured magnificent Bulls contributions from Matas Buzelis, Nikola Vucevic , Josh Giddey, and Josh Giddey.

On the other hand, the Portland Trail Blazers were relentless in challenging the Bulls on their homecourt, forcing 17 Bulls game turnovers they leveraged into 23 points scored off turnovers.

Overall, the game had 18 lead changes and the Trail Blazers fought the Bulls to a one-possession score within the final three minutes of the game.

Ultimately the Bulls prevailed, winning the game 118-113.

BULLS WIN!!! 118-113 Here are your Bulls On Tap Beer Buds of the Night: Giddey- 15 pts, 19 reb, 12 ast Vooch- 31 pts, 12 reb, 2 blk Coby - 31 pts, 7 ast, 5 reb pic.twitter.com/0IjiL535iK Vooch and Coby Deliver 30-ball Effort Bulls center Nikola Vucevic was a dominant force in 33 game minutes against the Trail Blazers.

From the opening tip-off, Vucevic was prominently featured in the Bulls' offensive attack, serving as a formidable teacher to his rookie opponent, Donovan Clingan .

Vucevic hit double figures in scoring by the end of the first quarter with 13 points and finished the game with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.

Bulls 1Q Insights Vooch shot out of the gates like a madman in the 1Q! 13 pts 6/8 FG pic.twitter.com/quWIapNhmP Coby White's total game output was similar to Nikola Vucevic's, with 31 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, but it varied between the first and second halves.

In the first half, White struggled with his shooting, scoring 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, though he was perfect at the free-throw line, going 4-of-4.

Coby blazing his own trail! pic.twitter.com/VZANo0C3T8 Fortunately for the Bulls, White found his rhythm in the second half, scoring 20 points in that period.

He maintained his commitment to getting to the free-throw line, converting 7 of 8 free-throw attempts in the second half.

Matas Buzelis' First Career Double-Double Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis brought his glue gun to the game and constantly did little things to impact the game in the right direction for the Bulls.

Matas made amazing strides this season giving effort to stay in the ball.

Even if Matas gets beat slightly to the rim, Matas has the length to erase shots.

A full season of Matas defense next year is exciting! pic.twitter.com/4FLm6fe5Od Defensively, Buzelis was the rim protector the Bulls needed to secure their victory over the Trail Blazers, recording three blocks throughout the game.

Offensively, Buzelis was a Swiss army knife, utilizing baseline cuts for scoring and assisting on three-point shots as a trailer and from the corner.

Matas + Baseline = HAMMER! pic.twitter.com/744kAHfHPK Buzelis rounded his effort as a dominant rebounder in the game, finishing with 12 total rebounds that also provided Buzelis with his first NBA career double-double.

Congrats to Matas on his first career double-double!!! pic.twitter.com/OyO8eSefFM Josh Giddey Notches Another Triple-Double Josh Giddey's performance served as the super glue that secured the Bulls' victory, culminating in a triple-double with 15 points, 19 rebounds, and 12 assists.

T H T DYNAMITE!!! pic.twitter.com/cQ1lzf9o0W Giddey's increasingly on-brand triple-double effort against Portland also represented another Bulls career milestone as Giddey increased his season triple-double count to six, a career high.

Lot happening on that hoop: Coby White has set a new franchise record with 210 3-pointers.

And Josh Giddey assisted, giving him his sixth triple double of season, also a career high What's On Tap Next? On Sunday, the Bulls begin their final week of the 2024-25 NBA regular season as they travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets for the last time this season.

The Hornets are deep into a difficult 2024-25 NBA season with a 19-58 win-loss record and come into Sunday's game against the Bulls on a two-game losing streak.

Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m.

CT and will be broadcast on the Chicago Sports Network ( CHSN ).

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission..

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