Zach LaVine scored 30 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 on Monday night to lead the visiting Chicago Bulls to a 126-123 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, who played without injured guard Ja Morant.
Morant missed his first game of the season due to thigh soreness. Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 30 points and seven rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 19 points.
Memphis led by double digits for much of the game, but the Bulls recovered from a 20-point first-half deficit behind effective 3-point shooting.
Chicago made 25 of 53 shots from beyond the arc, including five in a span of 2:35 near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. LaVine’s 3-pointer with 7:37 to go started that flurry, and the forward hit another triple 30 seconds later that gave the Bulls their first lead of the game at 111-109. After Vucevic’s 3-pointer made it 114-112 in favor of the visitors, Chicago never trailed again in the game’s final six-plus minutes.
Bane had a chance to tie the game with 2.6 seconds remaining, but his 3-point try bounced off the rim.
LaVine surpassed 20 points for the fourth straight game to open the season.
Much like they did in a wire-to-wire home win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday, the Grizzlies built an early double-digit lead, putting them ahead 68-54 at halftime.
With Morant sitting out, Bane stepped up. He tied a career high for most points in a first half by scoring 23, a total that included six 3-pointers. Bane closed the half by draining three triples in the final 75 seconds.
Memphis enjoyed its largest lead — 20 points — on several occasions in the second quarter before the Bulls rallied to trim their deficit to eight, 54-46, on a LaVine 3-pointer with 2:21 remaining. But the Grizzlies quickly answered behind Bane’s torrid shooting.
In the second half, the Grizzlies struggled. They were outscored 72-55.
