Bulls snap six-game losing streak
CHICAGO — Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Zach Lavine added 25 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-107 on Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak.
Tomas Satoransky had a season-high 19 points and 11 assists as Chicago won for the first time since acquiring Vucevic before the trade deadline.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 15 assists to lead short-handed Brooklyn, which played without James Harden and Kevin Durant. Jeff Green added 21 off the bench. The Nets had won five straight and 10 of 12.
Brooklyn led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but Chicago closed the gap to 28-25 and then posted a 32-18 advantage in the second for a 57-46 halftime lead.
CLIPPERS 104, LAKERS 86
Marcus Morris scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the short-handed Lakers in a 104-86 victory on Sunday to end a two-game skid.
Kawhi Leonard had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Paul George added 16 points for the Clippers.
The Lakers trailed the entire game in which they were without injured Allstar duo Lebron James and Anthony Davis, as well as Andre Drummond and Wesley Matthews. They’ve dropped six of nine.
Montrezl Harrell led the Lakers with 19 points. Marc Gasol was the only starter in double figures with 11 points.
The Clippers built a double-digit lead midway through the second that the Lakers never reduced to single digits the rest of the way.
BUCKS EXTEND HOLIDAY
Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday followed up his biggest game of the season by making a longterm commitment to his new team.
Holiday agreed to a four-year contract extension that would be worth at least $134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. The Bucks announced the agreement Sunday.
The announcement came one day after Holiday had a season-high 33 points as well as 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 129-128 victory at Sacramento.
Under the terms of this deal, Holiday declines a $26.7 million player option for next season but receives base salaries of $30.1 million next season, $32.4 million in 2022-23 and $34.7 million in 2023-24. He also holds a $37 million option for 2024-25.
There are incentives that could push the total value of Holiday’s deal to nearly $160 million.
EMBIID SITS OUT
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid won’t play in Sunday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies in order to recover one night after returning to the lineup following a 10game absence because of a bone bruise in his left knee.