Matas Buzelis' 29 Points Power Chicago Bulls to Win Over Grizzlies

Matas Buzelis' March masterpiece continued on Monday night, as the 21-year-old forward showed exactly why he is the future of the Bulls' franchise.

Chicago has lost over 76% of its games since the front office's fire sale at the trade deadline. It's a tough pill to swallow for Bulls fans, who long for the contending teams of decades past, but the road map back to those winning ways has become clear.

The Bulls still need more from a personnel standpoint — a lot more. For now, though, Chicago fans can find comfort in knowing that Buzelis is on the right path to becoming something special.

Led by the second-year Chicago-area native, the Bulls defeated the Grizzlies at home, 132-107. Billy Donovan's team went 0-11 in February, but has won four of its eight games so far in March.

Buzelis' 29 points marked the seventh time in nine games that he scored at least 20. He converted on 12 of his 22 attempts while adding seven rebounds and three blocks.

Josh Giddey logged his 30th career triple-double to move into 19th all-time on the NBA's leaderboard. The Australian point guard, who totaled 16 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists and three steals on Monday, has earned a triple-double in five of his past seven appearances.

Six players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who have lost eight consecutive games.

The Bulls were unable to pull away from Memphis for much of the first half, despite the Grizzlies missing nine players due to injury. Not even a thundering Buzelis dunk over Memphis' Rayan Rupert, which sent the United Center into a frenzy, was able to push the Bulls' lead to greater than five.

After Chicago went up by seven in the final minute of the second quarter, rookie wing Cedric Coward connected from downtown to cut the Grizzlies' deficit to 61-57 at the break.

Giddey had nearly logged a triple-double by halftime and showed no signs of slowing down. He fired a dime to Leonard Miller in the corner to start the third quarter, then drilled a three-pointer of his own on his next trip down the court. Giddey's facilitation helped Buzelis find some space, leading to a barrage of triples from the young forward.

Buzelis' three shots from deep were a part of a 23-7 Bulls run coming out of the intermission. Memphis managed to turn the Bulls' 21-point lead into just a six-point margin late in the third, but Buzelis drilled a step-back three to keep the Grizzlies at a comfortable distance. Eighteen points in the third marked Buzelis' most in a single quarter as an NBA player.

Rob Dillingham and Yuki Kawamura combined for 15 points down the stretch as Chicago widened the gap, eventually outscoring Memphis in the final period, 35-21.

Despite the victory, the Bulls (28-40) still have the ninth-best odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery at 4.5%.