Bulls roll past Grizzlies 132-107 behind Buzelis brilliance and another Giddey triple-double

The Bulls didn’t just beat the Grizzlies on Monday night. They grabbed the game by the shoulders in the second half and never let go.

Chicago walked into the United Center looking for a reset after a bumpy road trip. What it found was rhythm, energy, and the kind of complete offensive performance that can make a team believe again. By the time the final horn sounded, the Bulls had turned a close game into a runaway, cruising to a 132-107 win over Memphis.

For a team that has spent too much of this season searching for consistency, this felt different. It felt lighter. Sharper. Meaner in the right way.

And at the center of it all were Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey, who controlled the night in two very different, equally damaging ways.

Bulls get a star turn from Matas Buzelis

There are nights when a young player scores a bunch of points. Then there are nights when he looks like he’s starting to understand exactly how dangerous he can become.

This was the second kind.

Buzelis poured in 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting, knocked down five 3-pointers, pulled down seven rebounds, and added three blocks for good measure. He attacked from everywhere. In transition. In space. Off the catch. Off the bounce. At the rim. From deep.

More than the box score, it was the confidence that jumped off the floor.

Every touch looked purposeful. Every move looked like it belonged. When Memphis tried to recover, Buzelis answered with a step-back three. When the Grizzlies got too comfortable in the paint, he rose and finished above the rim. When they tested him defensively, he sent shots back.

That’s the part that should excite Bulls fans most. Buzelis wasn’t just a scorer in this one. He affected both ends of the floor, and he did it with a calm edge that veteran players spend years trying to find.

Chicago needed somebody to bend the game in its favor. Buzelis did exactly that.

At this point, it’s no longer a surprise when Giddey fills up every column on the stat sheet. It’s becoming part of the Bulls’ nightly identity.

Giddey finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists in another triple-double, while also adding three steals and committing only two turnovers. He controlled the tempo the way a good point guard should. He knew when to push. He knew when to wait. He knew where the next pass needed to go before Memphis did.

That’s what made him such a problem.

The Grizzlies had no clean answer for his size, vision, and patience. If they backed off, he attacked the lane. If they collapsed, he sprayed the ball to shooters. If they missed, he cleaned the glass himself and started the break.

The Bulls had 30 assists as a team, and Giddey was the engine behind so much of that flow. Chicago’s offense didn’t feel forced. It felt connected. That usually starts with the guy handling the ball most, and Giddey gave the Bulls a steady hand all night.

When your lead guard is rebounding like a forward and distributing like a veteran floor general, everybody else gets to play freer. That’s what happened here.

Bulls win the second half with pace, shooting, and pressure

For a while, this had the look of a competitive game.

Chicago led 61-57 at halftime, but Memphis was still hanging around. Cedric Coward kept the Grizzlies within reach with 17 points, and the visitors had enough shot-making early to keep the Bulls from fully breaking loose.

Then the third quarter hit, and the game started tilting hard.

The Bulls outscored Memphis 36-29 in the third, then slammed the door with a 35-21 fourth. That’s where the separation became real. Chicago pushed the pace, got clean looks from three, and made Memphis pay for mistakes. The Bulls finished shooting 52 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 18 threes overall.

Tre Jones added 17 points and five assists. Rob Dillingham gave the Bulls 15 off the bench. Jalen Smith chipped in 13. Guerschon Yabusele added 13 of his own. Leonard Miller gave Chicago 10 points and seven boards. This was not a one-man show. It was a full rotation effort, the kind coaches love because it shows a team is playing together instead of waiting for one savior.

That depth mattered.

The Bulls won the rebounding battle, moved the ball well, and kept the pressure on even after building a double-digit lead. Memphis never found a defensive answer once Chicago got rolling. By the fourth quarter, the game had slipped from competitive to clinical.

What the Bulls proved in the win over Memphis

The Grizzlies have been sliding, and that matters. Context always matters in the NBA. Memphis came in struggling and left with another loss. But that shouldn’t take away from what the Bulls did.

Chicago handled business.

There’s value in that, especially for a team still trying to define what it can be over the final stretch of the season. The Bulls improved to 28-40 with the win, and while the record still tells a frustrating story, nights like this show why there is still real intrigue around this roster.

The Bulls have young talent. They have creators. They have athleticism. When the spacing is clean and the ball moves, they can look explosive. When Buzelis plays like this and Giddey orchestrates like this, Chicago becomes tough to deal with.

That doesn’t erase the inconsistency that came before. But it does give the Bulls something meaningful to build on.

And emotionally, that matters too. Teams need nights that remind them who they can be. The Bulls got one on Monday.

Bulls leave fans with a reason to watch what comes next

The final score was 25 points. The feel of the game said even more.

This was one of those nights where the Bulls gave the home crowd a little jolt. A little hope. Not the fake kind. Not the kind built on empty headlines. The real kind that comes from watching a young cornerstone take over and a playmaker keep everybody organized.

Buzelis looked like a rising star. Giddey looked like a conductor. The supporting cast did its job. The offense hummed. The defense did enough, then more than enough once the game turned.

For one night at least, the Bulls looked like a team with direction.

That’s not everything. But in March, for a group trying to close the season with purpose, it’s a whole lot better than nothing.