Bulls Stun Warriors in OT as Buzelis Erupts at Chase Center
If you missed this one, mate, you missed an absolute cracker. Out at Chase Center on Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls rocked up and pulled the carpet out from under a depleted Golden State Warriors outfit, snatching a 130-124 overtime victory. And the bloke who stole the show? A 21-year-old rookie you might not have had on your radar until now: Matas Buzelis.
The Buzelis Breakout
Forget everything you thought you knew about this Bulls team. Suiting up with just eight available players, they needed someone to stand up, and Buzelis answered the call in a way no one saw coming. The rookie went absolutely berserk, notching a career-high 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting. This wasn't just a quiet personal best, either. He was the man for the big moments, dragging his team back into the contest and then icing five crucial points in the extra period to get the job done. You love to see a young fella announce himself on a big stage like that.
A Collapse You Wouldn't Believe
Now, for the Warriors faithful, this one's going to hurt for a while. This game was theirs to lose. With just over 90 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, they were sitting pretty with an eight-point lead. It should have been a regulation win. But the wheels fell off in spectacular fashion.
Chicago, showing the heart of a team with nothing to lose, clawed back point by point. Then came the killer moment. With a mere 1.4 seconds remaining and the Warriors up by two, a bizarre foul was called on Draymond Green against Jalen Smith on a desperation heave. Smith, cool as a cucumber, stepped to the line and knocked down both free throws to tie it up and force overtime. You could feel the air get sucked right out of the building.
Giddey Does It All
While Buzelis was filling it up, Josh Giddey was busy running the show. The Australian stuffed the stat sheet with a monstrous triple-double: 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 17 assists. He was the engine that kept the Bulls offense humming, especially when things got sticky. Pair that with 22 points from Tre Jones, and you've got a recipe for an upset, no matter how undermanned you are.
Warriors MIA: The Curry Shaped Hole
Let's be real, though. This Warriors team is a shadow of itself right now. They're running on empty. For the 15th straight game, they were without Stephen Curry and his troublesome right knee. The injury list is a who's who of rotation players, and it's finally catching up with them. They got contributions across the board—Kristaps Porzingis, Pat Spencer, Gui Santos, and LJ Cryer all had 17 points—but when the game was on the line, they didn't have that finisher. This loss marks their third straight L, and they've now dropped five of their last six. Steve Kerr is still waiting for that elusive 600th career win.
Here's the state of play for the Dubs right now:
- Record: Fell to 32-33, below .500.
- Injury Bug: Absolutely decimated. Missing not just Steph, but key pieces like De'Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post.
- The Gut Punch: Lost an 8-point lead in the final 90 seconds of regulation.
The Bulls, improving to 27-38, now head down to LA to take on the Lakers on Thursday, while the Warriors will try to stop the rot when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. But for one night at least, this was all about the young fella from Chicago announcing himself to the league. What a game.