In the shadow of the Chicago Bears’ simultaneous NFC Divisional Playoff round home tilt against the Los Angeles Rams, the Chicago Bulls avenged their 112-109 Friday road loss to the Brooklyn Nets with a spottily attended United Center rematch Sunday.
With Brooklyn resting its best player, small forward Michael Porter Jr. (an alleged Bulls trade target), and Friday hero Drake Powell, it felt like the fix was in from the jump: the Bulls wanted a meaningless win, and the tanking Nets wanted a meaningful loss. Everyone got what they wanted, as the Bulls led nearly wire-to-wire, wrapping things up with a 124-102 final margin.
Head coach Billy Donovan opted to roll with the starting lineup he used at the start of the second half against Friday’s loss with Coby White at the point, Isaac Okoro and Matas Buzelis along the wing, Jalen Smith starting at power forward, and Nikola Vucevic manning the middle.
Playing against a self-destructive Nets squad allowed several Bulls to register some spiffy stats.
Both Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu showed out, logging season-best tallies for made treys. A whopping three Chicago players recorded double-doubles.
First Half: Coby White Goes Deep
Things were fairly even for the first few minutes of the opening quarter, but a spirited 30-14 Chicago run — propelled in large part by Smith (including, surprisingly, as a passer), Dosunmu and Vucevic — put the Bulls up big, 39-22, at the end of the first quarter. The Bulls were more or less in control from that point on, leading by as many as 27 points in the second half.
Chicago paced Brooklyn by as many as 19 points early in the second frame, but an 11-2 Nets push — buoyed by starting Brooklyn center Nic Claxton — trimmed the lead down to 10 points. This was the essentially rhythm of the second quarter — the Bulls would relent in the paint, the Nets would threaten to get things semi-close, and then Chicago would pull away again.
The big hero of the half was Coby White, looking a lot like his more dominant 2024-25 self. He started off the game red-hot, going 5-for-5 from deep, before missing his final two field goals of the half.
?????Coby White hits his first FIVE threes in the first half!@CobyWhite | @CHSN__ pic.twitter.com/bUSS7sIwL2
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 19, 2026The 6-foot-4 North Carolina product paced all players with 16 points, plus two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a +14 plus-minus. Overall, three Bulls players found themselves in double figures through two quarters, as Ayo Dosunmu had 13 and Nikola Vucevic had logged 11.
Claxton led the Nets with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists at the break.
Bulls Player of the Half: Coby White – 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
70 points in the first half ??Ayo Dosunmu: 13 pts, 4 ast pic.twitter.com/7SetxW7Dc5
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 19, 2026Second Half: Bulls Pull Away, Abetting the Brooklyn Tank
Vucevic had been playing well from inside early, but began settling for triples early into the second half. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as a tanking Brooklyn squad resting two of its best players let Chicago build out a 95-71 advantage heading into the fourth frame.
Buzelis continued to flash some major defensive promise, at one point securing an impressive chasedown block against Jalen Wilson on a second-chance try.
Tre Jones quietly asserted himself with some solid paint scoring and crafty, low-turnover passing.
The game was out of hand for the entire fourth quarter, but an inattentive (or stubborn?) Billy Donovan opted to keep at least Jalen Smith and Isaac Okoro in until the 2:46 mark of the period. Okoro hit the deck twice in that span, lingering on the ground the second time after getting shaken off a hard pick.
Just as the Bulls and Brooklyn clearly both wanted, Chicago maintained its cushion and won handily, 124-102, with enough time for Dosunmu and Buzelis to check out the end of the overtime-bound Bears game. The Bulls improved to still-mid 20-22 on the year.
Bulls MVP: Coby White – 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field (7-of-11 from distance), 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a +16 in just 29:51.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesNumbers To Remember
Coby White’s seven made triples represent a season high. This was his best game back since he first reaggravated that right calf during that Minnesota Timberwolves blowout on December 29. Dosunmu connected on 5-of-8 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, also a season-best. Thanks to a 12-point, 10-rebound night, Jalen Smith has now logged three straight double-doubles for the first time in his NBA career, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. Johnson adds that Chicago dished out a season-best 41 dimes in the game, led by Jones’ 10. The Nets had 33 assists. A whopping five Bulls passed for five or more assists (Jones, Kevin Huerter, Dosunmu, Vucevic, and Buzelis). Beyond the marksmanship of Dosunmu and White, Chicago leaned on post scoring. The Bulls ultimately bested the Nets, 58-40, in the paint.Hence then, the article about sharpshooting coby white ayo dosunmu help bulls pulverize shorthanded nets 124 102 january 18 2026 was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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