Chicago Bulls: Sato and Vucevic breakthrough to nab upset win of Nets

Returning from a long Western Conference road trip this weekend, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls were looking to finally get back on the right track. Donovan and the Bulls had lost six games in a row, and eight of their last nine, following their April 2 defeat at the hands of the Utah Jazz on the road.

It didn’t look easy for the faltering Bulls to get back on track to round out the weekend, as they had to take on the surging Brooklyn Nets, who had won four in a row coming into this one. The Nets were coming off an impressive win over the improved Charlotte Hornets on April 1, where they were without injured superstar guard James Harden.

Head coach Steve Nash and the Nets were once again missing Harden in this meeting with the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago on April 4, due to a lingering hamstring injury. The Nets did still have the newly acquired big man pairing of Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, along with superstar point guard Kyrie Irving, against the Bulls on this afternoon.

Despite missing Harden, the Nets were still the favorited team ahead of this 1 p.m. CT tip-off in the Windy City.

Nikola Vucevic and Tomas Satoransky help Chicago Bulls pull the upset

A big game from the Bulls starting duo of combo guard Tomas Satoransky and recently acquired star center Nikola Vucevic pushed the team to snap their six-game losing skid. The former Orlando Magic two-time All-Star big man Vooch didn’t have his best outing in the Bulls’ April 2 seven-point loss to the Jazz, but he bounced back nicely to round out this weekend.

Sato also had his best, and most efficient, outing for the Bulls maybe since he was moved into the starting five by Donovan last month. He registered a team-high 11 assists, along with 19 points, one rebound, two steals, no blocks, and two turnovers. And Sato shot an efficient 8-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.

This was the first double-double of the season for Sato, and it was his first outing of the season so far registering assists in the double figures. That could be a really good sign moving forward for the Bulls with Sato having a real breakthrough outing in a win over one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference at this point of the season.

Meanwhile, Vooch was solid for the Bulls to round out the weekend too. He registered a game-high 13 rebounds, along with 22 points, two assists, two steals, two blocks, and just one turnover. Vooch shot a solid 10-of-17 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.

This was the second double-double for Vooch in five games played with the Bulls. And Vooch’s two double-doubles have come in the last three games for the Bulls. The return to the starting five of star shooting guard Zach LaVine has clearly had a positive impact on the production of Vooch.

Other solid performances for the Bulls were delivered by rookie forward Patrick Williams, center Daniel Theis, and veteran forward Thaddeus Young. Despite running into foul trouble early in this game, Young finished up scoring in double figures. In just 22 minutes on the floor, Young registered 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal.

Williams was very efficient for the Bulls in 31 minutes played in this game. He shot 4-of-5 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc to allow him to finish up with 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, and no turnovers.

On his birthday, Theis was the lone Bulls player that scored in double figures off of the bench. He raked in 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

This win over the Nets moves the Bulls to a record of 20-28 on the season and snaps their losing streak at six games. Next up for Sato, Vooch, and the Bulls is a key meeting with the divisional foe Indiana Pacers and star big man Domantas Sabonis on the road at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 6.