Bulls praise Nikola Vucevic after career night with Warriors

Bulls talk Bucevic’s career night: ‘He’s so dynamic’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The Bulls ended their three-game losing streak with a 132-118 victory over the Warriors on Sunday. This is largely due to Nikolai Vucević’s career his knighthood. The Bulls big man had nine consecutive double-doubles, set a career-high 43 points, and worked well as a facilitator for others, contributing to the edge of defense.

“Tonight I think I really made a difference and the reason I was able to move was because we really moved the ball,” he said. I was able to enter the spot.

“It wasn’t stagnant like it used to be, so it was a lot easier to play in the flow of the attack. You just open threes, or insides, so playing that way makes the game much easier for everyone.”

Vucevic made things look easy as he was humming in just about every aspect of the game. In addition to his 43 points, Vucevic had 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. He could also score from anywhere on the court.

“He’s very dynamic because he can shoot threes, play pockets, make floaters and hook shots,” said Ayo Dosunmu. “He’s got all of that in his bag. He’s also unselfish, so sometimes he gets into pick-and-rolls.

“I love playing with him because not only can he score, but he can also rebound. I think I like him.”

The Bulls entered Sunday’s game as the home underdog even before DeMar DeRozan sat out with a quad injury. But it became clear pretty early on that Vucevic was on a mission to step up in DeRozan’s absence. Vucevic started the game with his 12 of his 24 points in the Bulls’ first on a 5-7 shooting.

“We knew right away that he had a hot hand, and we played him,” said Zach LaVine. “If you have a guy like that, you can do it. Good for you.”

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After the game, Billy Donovan hinted that he wanted Vucevic to be more involved in attack.

“I think we have to try to establish him as much as possible,” Donovan said. Because he’s a really good facilitator, he doesn’t force a lot of shots.” I think the biggest thing that keeps him in rhythm is getting the ball.

“Even if he doesn’t score, I think it’s important for him to be aggressively involved in the game for us.”

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