Nicola Vucevic had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls withstood a fierce rally by Oklahoma City to beat the Thunder 111-110 on Monday night.
The Bulls led by 28 points in the third quarter, but the Thunder had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a 3-pointer that would have evened the score with 2.3 seconds to play.
The Bulls were short-handed. DeMar DeRozan, who averages 26.3 points per game, rested. Lonzo Ball was out with a bruised left knee and Alex Caruso missed the game with a fractured wrist suffered when Milwaukee's Grayson Allen yanked him to the ground.
With Ball and Caruso out, the Thunder harassed the Bulls in the fourth quarter.
Rookie Ayo Dosunmu scored a season-high 24 points and Zach LaVine added 23 for the Bulls.
Chicago, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, had lost six of seven and was coming off a 19-point loss to NBA-worst Orlando. LaVine, who had been out since Jan. 14 with a bruised left knee, was happy to provide a spark.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and 10 assists and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder, who have lost 11 of 12.
Dosunmu scored 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the first half to help the Bulls take a 58-48 lead at the break.
Javonte Green's right-handed throwdown in traffic put the Bulls up 66-50 early in the third quarter, and Chicago's biggest lead was 84-56 midway through the period. Oklahoma City trimmed that deficit, but Dosunmu banked in a 3-pointer from just inside half court at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 92-78 advantage.
Dort's 3-pointer with 53.6 seconds remaining cut Chicago's lead to three, and
a layup by Josh Giddey with 14.8 seconds left made it a one-point game.
LaVine made two free throws with 9.9 seconds left. After Gilgeous-Alexander's miss, Green sealed it when he made a free throw with 1 second remaining.
Dosunmu, a second-round draft pick, set a Bulls rookie record for made shots to start a game with nine. Orlando Woolridge made eight straight during the 1981-82 season. Dosunmu made 10 of 14 shots overall.
The Bulls are at Toronto on Wednesday.
