Post-season bound Bulls hold back Blazers, 118-113

CHICAGO — Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each had 31 points, Josh Giddey had a triple-double and the post-season bound Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-113 on Friday night.

Giddey had 15 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season. The Bulls are 10th in the Eastern Conference, the lowest position they can finish.

Deni Avdija led Portland with 37 points. Coming off a victory in Toronto on Thursday night, the Trail Blazers went 2-3 on a five-game trip. They are 12th in the West, 2 1/2 games out of a play-in position with four games to go.

Dalano Banton added 21 points for Portland, and Shaedon Sharpe had 17.

Takeaways

Trail Blazers: Portland was without Anfernee Simons (forearm), Jerami Grant (knee), Deandre Ayton (calf) and Scoot Henderson (concussion protocol).

Bulls: The Bulls are trying to improve their post-season position.

Key moment

White made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:09 to help the Bulls put it away.

Key stat

White tied his own Bulls season record for 3-pointers, hitting two to reach 209. He also had 209 last season.

Up next

The Blazers host San Antonio on Sunday.

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BULLS 118, BLAZERS 113

CHICAGO (118) — Buzelis 5-10 0-1 12, Huerter 3-10 0-0 9, Vucevic 13-22 3-3 31, Giddey 4-13 7-9 15, White 9-16 11-12 31, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Terry 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Collins 2-4 0-0 5, Horton-Tucker 4-5 5-6 13. Totals 41-87 26-31 118.

3-Point Goals—Portland 11-42 (Banton 2-6, Avdija 2-7, Murray 2-8, Rupert 1-3, Thybulle 1-3, Walker 1-3, Clingan 1-4, Sharpe 1-8), Chicago 10-27 (Huerter 3-7, Vucevic 2-3, Buzelis 2-4, White 2-6, Collins 1-2, Giddey 0-1, Horton-Tucker 0-1, Terry 0-1, Williams 0-2). Rebounds—Portland 54 (Clingan 18), Chicago 61 (Giddey 19). Assists—Portland 23 (Avdija, Sharpe 5), Chicago 25 (Giddey 12). Total Fouls—Portland 21, Chicago 16. A—21,572 (20,917)