Vucevic, Drummond join forces as Bulls blow out Spurs

Nikola Vucevic posted 22 points and 12 rebounds and Andre Drummond had season highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in 21 minutes as the host Chicago Bulls topped the struggling San Antonio Spurs 128-104 on Monday night (Tuesday, February 7, Manila time).

The Bulls produced seven double-figure scorers en route to their third straight victory.

San Antonio lost for the ninth straight time, two away from its season high. The Spurs have endured multiple losing streaks of at least eight games for the first time since 1988-89.

Chicago struggled to get untracked against the Spurs until late in the third quarter. A solid second half from Drummond, who was 9-for-9 from the floor on the night, provided a needed spark off the bench.

Keldon Johnson scored 21 points for San Antonio on 8-for-12 shooting. Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Malaki Branham (15 points) and Josh Richardson (11) also scored in double figures.

Monday marked the opener of a nine-game road trip for the Spurs.

Vucevic notched his 16th double-double in past 18 games as the Bulls earned a split of the season series with San Antonio. Four players had at least 19 points for Chicago.

Zach LaVine scored 20 points and DeMar DeRozan had 19. Coby White (12), Patrick Williams (11) and Ayo Dosunmu (10) followed. DeRozan contributed a game-high five assists.

Chicago took a 62-59 lead into halftime, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor compared to 50 percent for San Antonio.

The Bulls led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter as they established an advantage in the paint, but the Spurs used their own inside talent to cut the deficit while outscoring Chicago 31-23 in the second quarter.

Johnson, who was questionable before the game due to a sore ankle, led all scorers with 17 points at the break, while Vucevic (15) and LaVine (11) paced a balanced attack for the Bulls.

Alex Caruso (left foot soreness) missed his second straight game for the Bulls. – Rappler.com