CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Nikola Vucevic made a key jump hook with 9.1 seconds left, helping the Chicago Bulls edge the Portland Trail Blazers 110-107 on Monday night.
Vucevic had 22 points and nine rebounds in Chicago’s third win in four games. Ayo Dosunmu finished with 23 points and 10 assists.
Anfernee Simons scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for Portland, but he missed a 3 from the top of the key as time expired. Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 15 rebounds in his sixth consecutive game with at least 20 points.
The Blazers lost for the seventh time in nine games.
The Bulls’ NBA-leading 24th clutch victory — a game that is within five points with under five minutes left — moved them within a game of .500 at 34-35. But they were outscored 32-21 in the final quarter.
Each team played without its second-leading scorer. Bulls guard Coby White missed his third straight game with a right hip strain, and Portland’s Jerami Grant sat out for the fourth straight contest with a right hamstring strain.
Dosunmu was 9 for 17 from the field while running the offense in White’s absence. He scored a career-high 34 points during Saturday night’s 127-98 victory over Washington.
