Steal of the Trip: Buzelis Erupts for Career-High 41 as Bulls Outlast Warriors 130-124 in OT

Matas Buzelis scored a career-high 41 points, Josh Giddey posted his 17th triple-double as a Bull with 21 points, 17 assists, and 13 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls outlasted the Golden State Warriors 130-124 in overtime on Tuesday night at Chase Center. Jalen Smith converted two free throws with 1.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 118 and force OT, where Buzelis sealed it with a 28-foot stepback three off a Giddey assist with 2:20 left. Chicago improved to 27-38. Golden State fell to 32-33 and has now lost three straight — all at home — and five of its last six.

Tre Jones came off the bench to score 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting, Leonard Miller finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Smith added 12 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes. The Bulls outrebounded the Warriors 64-49, including 20-12 on the offensive glass, and outscored them 64-44 in the paint. Chicago shot 45 percent from the field against Golden State's 42 percent and committed 14 turnovers to the Warriors' 12. Golden State played without Stephen Curry — out for a 15th consecutive game with a lingering right knee injury — as well as Seth Curry (sciatica), De'Anthony Melton (left inner thigh), Moses Moody (sprained right wrist), and Quinten Post (foot soreness). Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were available for the Warriors after both sat out Monday's loss at Utah, and Porzingis scored 17 in 20 minutes.

Smith Saved It, Buzelis Closed It

The Bulls led by as many as 13 in this game and were still up 105-100 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Then Golden State's bench simply took over. Pat Spencer made a driving floater to cut it to three, and after Gary Payton II tipped in a Gary Payton II tip dunk, LJ Cryer made two free throws to pull the Warriors within one. Tre Jones answered with a driving bank floater, but Spencer scored again — and then Gui Santos made a driving bank shot with 4:11 left to give Golden State its first lead since the opening minutes. Spencer added another bucket to stretch it to 105-108, and Payton II made a reverse layup off an Al Horford assist to push it to 105-110. The Warriors had outscored Chicago 25-2 over roughly six minutes and Chase Center had come alive.

Buzelis kept the Bulls breathing — two free throws, a 24-foot three off a Tre Jones assist — but Spencer hit a 32-footer with 1:31 left to push Golden State's lead back to five at 107-115. With the clock working against them and a hostile road crowd growing louder, the Bulls needed a complete sequence. Buzelis hit the three to make it 110-115, then drew contact in traffic with 47 seconds left and converted two of three free throws to cut it to 112-115. Leonard Miller banked in a running layup off a Giddey assist with 21 seconds left to make it 114-115. Golden State missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Jalen Smith went to the line needing two to tie it. He made both. Then, in a sequence that needed a Giddey turnover and a GS free throw to extend, Smith went back to the line with one second on the clock and made both again to level it at 118. Overtime.

In the extra period, the Bulls were the steadier team from the opening tip. Buzelis drove for a bank floater to open the scoring and push Chicago in front 120-118. Jones made a driving layup to stretch it to 122-118. Draymond Green hit a three to bring Golden State back within one, but then came the shot that ended it: Giddey found Buzelis at the top of the arc and Buzelis rose up over a late closeout for a 28-foot stepback three to make it 125-121 with 2:20 left. Giddey drove for a layup on the next possession to extend it to 127-121. Santos made a three off a Spencer assist to keep Golden State alive at 127-124, but Jones converted a driving layup to push it back to five, and Giddey hit one of two at the line on the final possession to close it out at 130-124.

A Team That Doesn't Quit

Tuesday's win was everything the loss in Sacramento two nights earlier was not. Against the Kings, the Bulls went sideways in the second quarter and never recovered — passive defensively, careless with the ball, and ultimately running out of time to make it a game. Against the Warriors, they squandered a double-digit lead, got punched in the mouth by a Golden State bench that had absolutely nothing to lose, and still found a way to win. That's a different kind of resolve, and it's one worth recognizing in a group that has dealt with injuries, inconsistency, and a schedule that has not done them any favors down the stretch.

The biggest individual performance of the night — and arguably the biggest individual performance of this Bulls season — was Buzelis's 41. He scored in every period: 6 in the first, 7 in the second, 11 in the third, 12 in the fourth, and 5 in overtime. He was the go-to option when the Warriors ran their fourth-quarter run, making the two free throws, the pull-up three, and the two late free throws in regulation that kept the margin manageable. And in overtime, with the game still in genuine doubt, he delivered the most important shot of his career — a 28-footer off the dribble with a hand in his face, completely composed. He also finished with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 45 minutes. That is a complete performance from a player who has been developing into one of the more interesting young forwards in the league.

Giddey's 17 assists were the story within the story. He found Miller for a reverse layup with 21 seconds left in regulation, found Buzelis for the step-back three in overtime, and threaded the needle repeatedly in traffic all night. His 13 rebounds — 6 of which were on the offensive glass — underscore how committed he is to second-chance situations, and his 21 points came on efficient 7-of-16 shooting including four threes. The triple-double was his 17th as a Bull, moving him further past Scottie Pippen on the all-time franchise list, with only Michael Jordan still ahead of him. Miller's 17-point, 11-rebound performance — including six offensive boards — gave the Bulls crucial second-chance opportunities that they needed against a depleted Golden State front line. And Jones's 22 off the bench, after Buzelis picked up an early foul in the first quarter, kept Chicago's offense in rhythm through the second period when they took control of the game.

Looking Ahead

The Bulls are now 27-38 and have gone 2-2 on their five-game West Coast road trip with one stop remaining. They head to Los Angeles next to face the Lakers on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. CT. The Lakers are 40-25 and on a three-game winning streak, so this will be the stiffest test remaining on the trip. But a team that just went into Chase Center — shorthanded, missing a night's sleep after a blowout loss in Sacramento — and found a way to win in overtime is worth taking seriously.

For Golden State, Tuesday extended a rough stretch that shows no sign of easing. The Warriors have now lost five of their last six, all three of their recent home games, and continue to wait on Stephen Curry's return from a knee injury that has kept him out of the lineup for 15 consecutive games. Coach Steve Kerr missed career win No. 600 for at least the second time in recent weeks. Porzingis looked sharp in limited minutes — 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting with four blocks in his second home game since arriving from Atlanta — but Tuesday was another reminder of how thin this roster is without its franchise player. The Warriors host Minnesota on Friday night.