In a season filled with close wins and losses, the Chicago Bulls had a rare easy win, dominating the Washington Wizards 127-98. This victory moved them to 33-35.
With star guard Coby White still recovering from a hip strain, Ayo Dosunmu stepped up and scored a career-high 34 points. Big man Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Alex Caruso continued his scoring binge, registering 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Veteran wingman DeMar DeRozan did not have to assert himself in this game, as he finished with only 13 points on seven shots.
Didn’t play around with their prey
On paper, the Wizards appeared to be easy prey for the Bulls. They held the NBA’s worst at 11-56. However, as Chicago has proven, no game is a given this season. But the Bulls didn’t mess around and dominated from start to finish.
Chicago’s offense was efficient, shooting 57 percent from the field. Although the Bulls struggled from the free-throw line (72%) and the three-point arc (33%), they were able to set the tone early, led by 22 at halftime, and cruised to the easy win.
Spearheading the Bulls’ attack against the Wizards was Dosunmu, the third-year guard who has had to take on a bigger role following the season-ending injuries to Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams. Dosunmu’s previous career high was 29 points, which he set in a game against the Atlanta Hawks last month.
Showing his improved three-point shot and playmaking skills, the former Illinois star made four triples and dished out nine assists.
Knew what he wanted to be
After the game, Dosunmu shared that he had a goal in mind following last season’s letdown of a performance. He wrote that goal down in a journal, the content of which he shared on Saturday night.
“I wrote down where I was at last year because I knew I wasn't the player I wanted to be,” Dosunmu said.
“I understood that in order to get better, it's gonna take a lot of time and a lot of work. I pretty much (tried) to write it down just so at a time like now, I could look back a year and say, ‘OK, this is where I was at.’”
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