Vucevic, White lead Bulls to 127-108 win over Wizards, losers of 12 straight

WASHINGTON — Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls eased to a 127-108 victory over the struggling Washington Wizards in an NBA Cup game.

Coby White scored 21 points and Zach Lavine had 18 for the Bulls, who pulled into a three-way tie at 2-1 with Boston and Atlanta and a half-game in front of Cleveland in East Group C.

Chicago allowed its second-fewest points and secured its largest margin of victory this season. The Bulls took the lead for good in the second quarter and kept it in double digits throughout the second half.

Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points for Washington, which lost its 12th straight and fell to 0-3 in the group and were eliminated from quarterfinal contention.

Rookie Alex Sarr tied a career high with 20 points and sank four 3-pointers for the Wizards, who sat starting point guard Jordan Poole for a second game with left hip soreness.

Takeaways

Bulls: Chicago improved to 6-5 on the road this season, joining first-place Cleveland (8-1) and second-place Boston as the third Eastern Conference team currently above .500 away from home.

Wizards: Sarr demonstrated the potential outside versatility that persuaded the Wizards to select the 7-foot forward second overall in the NBA Draft. His four made 3s came on 5 attempts to improve to 24.3% from beyond the arc this season.

Key moment

After a slow start, the Bulls outscored the Wizards 40-18 in the second quarter. It was Chicago’s second-most points in a quarter this season and Washington’s second-most allowed.

Key stat

After shooting 1 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, the Bulls made 10 of their next 15 3-point attempts in a stretch that extended into the second half.