The Bulls will be flying high when they head overseas. The team ended its three-game losing streak with a 132-118 win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday thanks to a career night from Nikola Vucevic. Now the team heads to Paris for a date against the Pistons this Thursday.
The Bulls entered Sunday’s game as underdogs at home. Things got even bleaker when DeMar DeRozan was ruled out with a quad injury. But Vucevic and a cast of supporting characters stepped up in DeRozan’s absence for the upset victory. Five Bulls finished with at least two 3-pointers, and four Bulls had at least four assists.
Vucevic helped the Bulls start hot and finish strong. He began the game with 5-7 shooting and scored 12 of the Bulls first 24 points. He added 18 more points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. Vucevic finished the night with 43 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Sunday marked Vucevic’s ninth-straight double-double, and his 43 points tied a career high.
“I got going really early,” Vucevic told Adam Amin on Bulls Postgame Live. “You just feel it. It’s hard to explain, just the feeling that’s in yourself. You just get this feeling that’s within yourself that it’s kinda gonna be your night and you just play, and play off your teammates.
“Tonight what I thought really made a difference, the reason why I was able to get going was because we really moved the ball. We really played aggressively offensively and I was able to get into my spots.”
Zach LaVine wasn’t as efficient scoring the ball, but still made a positive impact in other areas, including as a facilitator. LaVine ended with 27 points on 7-18 shooting, nine rebounds, six assists and hit 12-14 free throws.
The Paris trip will be a homecoming of sorts for LaVine. He believes his great-great grandfather hailed from France, but admitted he doesn’t speak French himself.
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“Never been to Paris,” LaVine told reporters earlier this week. “I've been to the south of France. I'm taking my wife, maybe hit Fashion Week, see some sights, get a nice dinner. Gotta see the Eiffel Tower. I’m excited.”
Thursday’s game against the Pistons will be the third game the Bulls play in Paris, and the first time an NBA game is played in Europe since 2020. In 1997, the Bulls played two preseason games there.
“Chicago is one of the biggest brand franchises in the world,” LaVine told reporters. “You get the fans that travel globally, internationally. We play on the road, sometimes it’s a home game for us on the road. It’s great seeing you have that fan base.
“Obviously just going out there and playing in front of different demographic of fans. I think that’s something that’s extremely cool and something you don’t get to do all the time.”