Matas Buzelis pours in 41 points to propel Bulls past Warriors in OT
Matas Buzelis capped a career-best 41-point performance with five points in overtime, Josh Giddey recorded his second straight triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 17 assists and the Chicago Bulls outlasted the Golden State Warriors 130-124 on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Buzelis, Giddey and Tre Jones, who finished with 22 points, combined to do all the Chicago scoring in the overtime as the Bulls, taking advantage of a tired Golden State squad playing the second night of a back-to-back, dominated the extra five minutes to the tune of 12-6 to snap a two-game losing streak.
Four different Warriors, including Kristaps Porzingis in his second home game in San Francisco, scored 17 points for the Warriors, who were 1.4 seconds away from a regulation win before Jalen Smith drew a foul on a desperation 21-footer and hit a pair of free throws to create a 118-all tie.
Buzelis opened the overtime with a six-footer and Jones followed with a driving layup to give Chicago a lead it never relinquished.
The Warriors used a 19-2 flurry late in the fourth quarter to take a late advantage, but when LJ Cryer missed one of two free throws with 7.9 seconds left, the door was left ajar for Smith's answer at the line at the other end.
Seeking to end a two-game losing streak, the Warriors began their late push after falling behind 103-91 following a Buzelis 3-pointer with 7:58 to go. They managed to build an eight-point lead with just 1:31 left, but Chicago dominated the final 6 1/2 minutes.
Buzelis shot 16-for-28 overall and 5-for-15 on 3-pointers en route to topping his previous career high by a full nine points.
Smith (12 points, 12 rebounds), Leonard Miller (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Nick Richards (10 points, 10 rebounds) all chipped in with double-doubles for the Bulls.
Cryer, Gui Santos and Pat Spencer joined Porzingis with 17 points apiece for the Warriors. Al Horford (13 points) and Draymond Green (12) also scored in double figures for Golden State, while Gary Payton II recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.