SAN FRANCISCO — If Thursday night was an audition for Nikola Vučević, the Chicago Bulls center might not have earned a callback.
Only days after being linked to a potential trade with Golden State, Vučević had plenty to play for against the Warriors. Never one to shy away from social media chatter, Vučević was quick to crack jokes about the rumors before the game.
Vučević appeared to be nailing his tryout in the opening minutes of the game. He rattled off seven quick points after making his first three baskets as the Bulls picked apart the Warriors defense to surge to a 14-point lead. Vučević showcased the necessity for a stretch center as he tucked into the Warriors defense by slipping and rolling off screens on the way to those early baskets.
But the game quickly changed for Vučević. The Warriors brought quick traps to force him into three turnovers, meeting Vučević with extra bodies at the rim. And they ran the him ragged on the other end of the court, forcing him to scramble to the perimeter as Quinten Post rained 3s.
Vučević finished with only nine points — tied for his fewest this season — six rebounds and four steals.
The rest of the roster mirrored Vučević as the Bulls failed to maintain their early scoring pace. After leading by one at the half, they were crushed at the 3-point arc in the third quarter, going 0-for-9 from deep while the Warriors racked up six 3-pointers to take a 14-point lead into the fourth. The Bulls were outscored 31-16 in the third quarter and couldn’t recover in a 131-106 defeat, their sixth in seven games.
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
1. A bench letdown
The Bulls bench has suffered heavily during a recent wave of injuries — including guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu — that have forced typical rotational players into the starting group. On Thursday, that meant another start for Lonzo Ball as White was sidelined for a second consecutive game with a right ankle injury.
The Bulls had little creativity left on the bench — and it showed. Bulls reserves scored only 25 points through the first three quarters and 41 overall. The Warriors, meanwhile, racked up 83 bench points as they received major boosts from Post (20 points) and Gui Santos (19).
2. Steph’s still got it.
Steph Curry was listed as questionable for injury-management purposes heading into the game — but once he was on the court, there was no questioning the guard’s effectiveness on offense.
Only hours after being named to his 11th All-Star Game, Curry dropped 21 points — including five 3-pointers — in 30 minutes, 47 seconds to lead the Warriors. Dosunmu spent most of his night chasing Curry around the perimeter, weaving his way through a tumult of screens in his attempt to slow Curry down.
3. Zach LaVine passed the 10,000-point threshold.
In the final minute of the first half, LaVine reached another milestone in his Bulls career. The guard splashed a 3-pointer from the left side of the arc for his fifth basket of the night, marking his 10,000th point of his eight-year tenure in Chicago.
LaVine, who led the Bulls with 24 points, is the sixth player in the franchise history to score at least 10,000 points for the club, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bob Love, Luol Deng and Jerry Sloan.
4. Uncertain injury timeline for Coby White.
The road to recovery became a bit more complicated for guard White, who underwent imaging on his right ankle Tuesday in Los Angeles after missing Monday’s win against the Clippers.
White suffered a bone bruise on his ankle after “jamming” his leg on an awkward landing in Sunday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, per Billy Donovan. The team initially expected the injury to be short term. White did not report any twisting and did not show signs of a sprain or other serious injury. The team left him as questionable leading into Thursday’s game with optimism that he could be available again this weekend.
The diagnosis threw that return timeline into question. Donovan said White could be out for a week or longer depending on how quickly pain recedes. The guard has not been able to undergo any basketball activities since Sunday’s game in Portland.
