Bulls race to 20-point lead in 1st quarter, hang on to beat the Rockets 132-124

By Canadian Press on March 23, 2026.

CHICAGO (AP) — Matas Buzelis’ layup in the final seconds put Chicago ahead to stay and Collin Sexton came off the bench to score 25 points as the Chicago Bulls beat the Houston Rockets 132-124 Monday night.

Houston’s loss, combined with San Antonio’s 136-111 win over Miami, allowed the Spurs (54-18) to clinch the Southwest Division.

The Bulls (29-42) led by as many as 22 points after scoring a season-high 41 points in the first quarter. But, Chicago trailed by four points late and needed Buzelis’ basket with 10.2 seconds remaining to move ahead to stay and post their first win over Houston in the teams’ last five games.

Kevin Durant fueled the Rockets’ (43-28) comeback by scoring 15 of his game-high 40 points in the fourth quarter. Durant was 15 of 23 from the field, marking the ninth straight game he shot 50% or better, which is the third-longest streak of his career.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka was ejected after being assessed his second technical foul of the game with 9.1 seconds remaining.

Sexton scored 17 of his points in the first quarter, while Buzelis finished with 23 and Leonard Miller 17. Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith each scored 15 points for the Bulls, with Giddey adding 13 assists.

After trailing by 17 at the half, the Rockets took the lead on a Jabari Smith Jr. 3-pointer with 5:56 to play. Alperen Sengun scored 33 for the Rockets and Amen Thompson added 23.

Jalen Smith, who was listed as questionable after missing the Bulls’ last game with an ankle injury, tied his season high in points and finished with six rebounds and two blocks off the bench despite being limited to 26 minutes.

The Rockets had won two straight after inserting second-year guard Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup. Sheppard shot 3 for 14 from 3-point distance.

Up next

Rockets: Visit Minnesota on Wednesday.

Bulls: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Luke Decock, The Associated Press