The Chicago Bulls earned another big win on Sunday as they made easy work of the Charlotte Hornets on the road. It didn’t take long for the Bulls to pull away from the 19-win Hornets as the lead grew to 20 by halftime. Charlotte was never able to get back in it as the Bulls held a comfortable lead for the entire second half, and they went on to win the game 131-117. Nikola Vucevic recorded his 201st double-double since coming to Chicago, and he is now 2nd all-time in Bulls history.
Nikola Vucevic passed Scottie Pippen for 2nd place on the Bulls all-time double-double list. Artis Gilmore is now the only player to record more double-doubles as a Bulls player. Vucevic finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win, and it was his third straight double-double.
Vucevic has been red-hot to start April as he is 3/3 on recording double-doubles, and he finished with 31 and 22 points in the Bulls’ other two wins this month. Vucevic is a big reason why the Bulls continue to play winning basketball.
If the Bulls are going to make some noise when the postseason rolls around, they will need Vucevic to continue to play at a high level. The Bulls’ big man has lacked consistency at times during his time in Chicago, but he can be a game-changer when he is playing his best basketball.
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The Bulls are in a similar spot right now compared to recent years. This will be the third straight season that the team plays in the play-in tournament, but things feel different this year. The Bulls are playing their best basketball at the right time as they are 12-4 since March 6th. Chicago has climbed over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings, and if the season ended today, the Bulls would host a play-in game.
There is also a good chance that the Bulls can jump into eighth place before the season ends as they are just a half game back of the Atlanta Hawks. They would be on the road in game one in that scenario, but they would only need one win to secure a playoff spot instead of two. That makes a massive difference.
Up next for Nikola Vucevic and the Bulls is a road matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. There is a good chance that Cleveland has the top seed in the Eastern Conference locked up by then, and if that’s the case, they will likely rest their starters.
