In the Bulls’ 116-110 victory over the Nets on Thursday, guard **Coby White** extended his streak of scoring 20 points or more to seven games.
The Nets sent double-teams and late traps at White to get the ball out of his hands, but he has gotten accustomed to the attention.
White, who had 31 points, had his fourth game of 30 or more points this season as the Bulls extended their winning streak to four games, their longest of the season.
**‘He’s got to be better’**
As guard **Kevin Huerter** drove the baseline, rookie **Matas Buzelis** read the direction of Huerter’s drive.
Buzelis cut at the right time and rose for a one-handed dunk over Nets guard **D’Angelo Russell**, who was trying to escape the poster. But outside of that highlight, Buzelis was largely invisible, playing only 14 minutes.
Buzelis’ development should be the No. 1 priority for the Bulls. With his combination of athleticism and shooting, he has skills that every team covets.
Coach **Billy Donovan** equated being an NBA rookie to being a high school player gearing up for his freshman season. He remembered a former player telling him “there was nothing I could have done to prepare for my freshman year of college.”
Buzelis has to take his lumps — like on Monday, when he logged only 24 minutes because Donovan felt he “played really tired.”
“We had a conversation yesterday about it because, quite honestly, in the game against Indiana, I made this comment, ‘He’s got to be better,’ ’’ Donovan said. ‘‘And I’m not talking about scoring; I’m just talking about motor and energy-wise. And he acknowledged that this has been something for him where he’s got to figure out his rest and recovery a lot better.”
Entering Thursday, Buzelis was averaging 29.4 minutes. Handling a heavy workload is a part of the process. Donovan said he has to develop a routine when it comes to taking care of his body with treatment and nutrition.
“There’s an impact emotionally, mentally and physically on somebody that’s never gone through this before,” Donovan said. ‘‘There’s going to be some things that he’s going to have to fight through later on in his career that he’ll handle a lot better.”
**Injury update**
Guard **Josh Giddey** (ankle) will join the team on the upcoming six-game trip as he continues to rehab. Giddey sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ 121-103 win over the Pacers on Monday.
Donovan said Giddey is still dealing with swelling in the ankle, but there’s optimism he can return at some point on the trip.
“The one thing that prevents a lot of these guys from kind of ramping up the rehab is when they have significant pain, and he doesn’t really have as much pain, which is really positive,” Donovan said.