The Dallas Mavericks finished their four-game Eastern Conference road trip on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls, the hometown of Anthony Davis. He was in the lineup for this game, as was PJ Washington and Kai Jones, while Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Kyrie Irving, and a few others were out.
Dallas started Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis, and Kai Jones, while Chicago rolled with Coby White, Josh Giddey, Kevin Huerter, Matas Buzelis, and Nikola Vucevic.
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It was another slow start for the Mavericks offensively. PJ Washington made the first shot of the game, as the Mavs tend to give him the first touch, but then they made just one of their next seven shots. That allowed the Bulls to take an early 12-5 lead, but a Spencer Dinwiddie four-point play helped re-establish momentum.
Kai Jones gave the Mavs the lead with a bucket at the rim, then Brandon Williams got to the rim in transition with a nifty finish to extend the lead to three. Jaden Hardy hit a three to give Dallas a 9-1 run. But Chicago came right back with an 8-0 run to retake the lead as Coby White got his first bucket in transition. His second basket was a three at the end of the quarter, and the Bulls had a 34-30 lead heading into the second.
Josh Giddey and P.J. Washington
Mar 29, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) defends Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images
The Bulls continued their run into the second quarter, quickly building the lead to 10. Anthony Davis didn't help matters by going empty on a trip to the line. That's around where the lead would be for most of the quarter.
Klay Thompson hit a three to cut the lead to single digits in transition, then hit a second one off a screen in transition to quickly bring the lead down to four. Another Klay three in the transition, this time from the corner, brought the lead down to one. The Mavericks continued that run to make it a 15-0 sprint as they retook the lead, holding the Bulls without a made field goal for nearly five minutes. That helped the Mavs take a 58-55 lead into halftime.
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Chicago briefly took the lead to start the second half before an 8-0 Dallas run forced a timeout from Billy Donovan. The run didn't stop there, though, as Kai Jones flushed in a dunk to make it 10-0. Both offenses started to roll after that, and Coby White would tie the game at 76 on an and-one in transition.
Dueling 6-0 runs kept the game tied as the quarter ticked away. It would be Jaden Hardy beating the third-quarter buzzer to give the Mavs an 89-87 lead heading into the fourth.
Coby White and Spencer Dinwiddie
Mar 29, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) defends Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images
Dallas grew on that lead in the fourth, as an Anthony Davis and-one pushed the lead to nine just a few minutes in, matching the team's largest lead of the night. Davis then missed a dunk in transition that could've made it a double-digit lead, but it instead led to a run-out for the Bulls, their first basket of the quarter.
That four-point swing helped the Bulls climb back into the game and get the lead down to three, but a block by P.J. Washington led to another transition three for Klay Thompson, then Spencer Dinwiddie hit one from the same spot as Thompson, and all of a sudden the lead was nine again. Finally, the Mavericks got the lead above double digits as Dinwiddie attacked the rack for a slam.
Dallas got the lead up to 12 with a few minutes remaining before the Bulls quickly cut it to six, looking to accomplish a similar feat as they did against the Lakers a few days ago. A Matas Buzelis three-pointer cut the lead to three in the final minute as they were on an 11-2 run. Spencer Dinwiddie got to the basket for a big layup, making it a five-point game with 36.1 seconds to go.
Coby White got a quick two with 32 seconds to go, and Spencer Dinwiddie had a wild shot attempt to potentially ice the game as it hit the shot clock, giving the Bulls a chance with 10.4 seconds to go. Looking to avoid a game-tying three, the Mavs intentionally fouled Vucevic to send him to the line with 8.6 seconds remaining. He missed the first and made the second.
Down by two, the Bulls fouled Klay Thompson. He made both to essentially ice the game, but the Bulls made things interesting as Vucevic made a three in the final second to make it a one-point game. But that would be the final bucket, and the Mavericks would hang on against the Bulls, 120-119.
Although the Bulls dominated the Mavericks on the glass, 66-45, Chicago was loose with the ball, turning it over 19 times. Dallas only had six turnovers, a big reason they won this game.
Dallas had seven players in double figures, with the free throws by Klay Thompson making him Dallas' leading scorer with 20 points. P.J. Washington was right behind him with 19 points, followed by Anthony Davis (18 points), Kai Jones (15 points), Spencer Dinwiddie (14 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds), Naji Marshall (14 points), and Brandon Williams (12 points).
Chicago was led by the rookie Matas Buzelis, who had 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists on a very efficient 10/17 shooting, including 5/7 three-point shooting. Coby White wasn't far behind with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic (25 points, 9 rebounds) and Zach Collins (13 points) were also in double figures.
The Mavericks return home to face the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
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