CHICAGO -- — The Golden State Warriors were in a shambles and needed relief. They definitely got one.
Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, Stephen Curry added 19 and the Warriors posted their most one-sided win of the season, dominating the Chicago Bulls 138-96 on Friday night.
Rookie Jonathan Kuminga finished with 25 points and Jordan Poole scored 22 points.
The Warriors broke massively from their slump, exiting early after dropping four out of five. They just wanted that kind of easy win to recover from a one-sided loss to defending champions Milwaukee last night.
"We came in with a lot of determination," coach Steve Kerr said. "Obviously, they were in the back of the 8-ball soon after Zach (Lavin) got injured."
The Bulls lost Lavin to a left knee injury in the opening minutes. They went 78-47 off the court at halftime and ended up with their worst defeat of the season.
Wiggins scored 20 runs in the first half and scored 8 of 11 in the game, scoring three 3-pointers. Curry made a slow start in the overall turnaround for the Warriors after going 77-38 at halftime in Milwaukee on Thursday.
Poole grabbed five 3-pointers, and the Warriors took it easy, even though they were missing Klay Thompson and Drummond Green.
"If you're a good team, good things usually happen and you can usually come back," Curry said. "I like the way I reacted."
Nikola Vucevi had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. Coby White added 20 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points.
But the Bulls lost for the third time in four games after winning nine in a row since the end of the 2010–11 regular season.
lavine heart
Things take a dangerous turn for him when Lavin, who tore the ACL in his left knee while playing for Minnesota in February 2017, suffered an injury in the opening minutes.
Coach Billy Donovan said he thought LaVine felt some discomfort for the offensive rebound and tried to play through it. LaVine headed to the locker room with an 8:28 in the first quarter. He never went to the ground.
The All-Star and Olympic gold medalist was to have an MRI on Saturday. Donovan said LaVine was not going to Boston with the team for Saturday's game. The Bulls travel to Memphis on Monday before hosting Cleveland two days later.
"Once that's done an MRI will tell a lot," Donovan said. "I don't want to sit there guessing whether they have more anxiety."
Pulling away
Things didn't get better for Chicago after LaVine was out of the game. The Bulls suffered another defeat after being blown away by Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets two nights earlier.
Despite just two points from Curry, the Warriors led 37–28 in the first quarter, then beat Chicago 41–19 in the second. 78 points were the highest this season for Golden State and the most allowed by the Bulls.
Curry scored the first six points in an 11–0 run that ended with a driving bank shot by Wiggins, making it 54–33, with about 7 minutes left in the half.
Tip-ins
Warriors: The Warriors rested Thompson as planned, when he played for 20 minutes in his third game at Milwaukee. Kerr said they plan to "bounce him up a little bit" on Sunday when he visits Minnesota. The five-time All-Star missed 2 1/2 years due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Achilles tendon injury. ... Kerr "Optimistic" Green (left calf tightness) returns Tuesday when the Warriors host Detroit. Green missed his third game in a row and Kerr said it made more sense that he should continue rehab in the Bay Area rather than join the team in Minnesota.
Bulls: G. Alex Caruso was not planning to travel to Boston and Memphis with the team. He missed his 11th consecutive game in the last five matches due to COVID-19 after spraining his left leg. ... Bulls sign F Malcolm Hill to a 10-day hardship contract. Hill played in Illinois from 2013-14 to 2016-17 and grew up near St. Louis in Belleville, Ill.
Next
Warrior: Go to Minnesota on Sunday.
Bulls: Visit Boston on Saturday.