The Chicago Bulls beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 on Sunday night at the United Center, earning a needed victory over a short-handed team before beginning a four-game West Coast trip this week.
The backcourt duo of Zach LaVine and Coby White showed off its dynamic scoring potential. LaVine raced out of the gates to score 21 points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 39. White helped close out the win by scoring 21 of his 23 points in the second half.
The Mavericks were playing without star guard Luka Doncic, but guard Jalen Brunson, the former Stevenson High School star, tried to pick up the slack with 31 points.
The win gives the Bulls a 3-4 record as they prepare for the challenging Western Conference swing that begins Tuesday night in Portland and includes games against the Sacramento Kings, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
LaVine scored 29 points in the first half, a career best and what was briefly the most by any NBA player in the first half this season (the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry put up 31 points by halftime later Sunday). It was the most points by any Bulls player at halftime since Michael Jordan put up 30 in the first half in February 1997. LaVine also finished with six rebounds and five assists.
And although LaVine was a bit quieter in the second half, White came alive. He has been a bit up and down this season as he adjusts to a new role as the primary ballhandler and distributor in the offense, but he made 7 of 14 shots (4 of 9 from 3-point range) and added seven rebounds and four assists.
