Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each scored 31 points to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Portland Trail Blazers 118-113 on Friday night at the United Center.
With the victory, the Bulls improved to 35-42 and maintained their hold on the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Giddey recorded his sixth triple-double of the season, contributing 15 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists in 39 minutes.
White sealed the game at the free-throw line, converting five of six attempts in the final 69 seconds as Chicago fended off a late push from Portland.
The Trail Blazers, who were without Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton, dropped to 34-44 and sit 12th in the West.
Deni Avdija led all scorers with 37 points on 12-of-25 shooting, adding 11 rebounds and five assists in a strong individual effort.
Dalano Banton chipped in 21 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 17 for the visitors, who shot just 38.3% from the field and 26.2% from beyond the arc.
The Bulls took control in the third quarter, outscoring Portland 40-29 to flip a two-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead entering the fourth.
Vucevic was efficient throughout, connecting on 13 of 22 attempts and grabbing 12 boards to record his 36th double-double of the season.
White matched his scoring output with 31 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while also dishing out seven assists and hitting two three-pointers.
Chicago had five players in double figures and finished with 25 assists on 41 made field goals while shooting 47.1% from the floor.
Rookie Matas Buzelis added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Talen Horton-Tucker gave the Bulls a lift off the bench with 13 points in under 16 minutes.
The Bulls outrebounded the Trail Blazers 61-54 and went 26-of-31 from the free-throw line, compared to Portland’s 14-of-18.
Despite the loss, Portland saw promising moments from several younger players including rookie big man Donovan Clingan, who pulled down 18 rebounds.
Chicago remains locked into a Play-In Tournament spot but continues pushing to improve their seed with five games remaining on the regular-season schedule.
