With 27 points and 13 assists, Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks past the Chicago Bulls 119:99

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 27 points and 13 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 17 points and Daniel Gafford also scored 17 points in a season-high 24 minutes as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 119-99 on Wednesday night.

The defending Western Conference champions scored the first 13 points of the second half and led by as many as 30 points while improving to 2-2 after five games at home.

Nikola Vucevic scored 14 points and 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter, leading the Bulls, who have lost three straight games. Rookie Matas Buzelis, who had a total of five points this season, had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Dallas played without starting forward PJ Washington because of a right knee sprain and without Dereck Lively II, who averages the most minutes as Gafford's backup, because of a right shoulder sprain.

The Bulls played their second straight game without leading scorer Zach LaVine, who is suffering from a right adductor muscle strain.

Takeaways

Bulls: On a night when Dallas was missing two of its starters, the Bulls made their most 3-pointers this season at halftime with 27 for a shooting percentage of 18.5%. They finished 12 of 42 for 28.6%.

Mavericks: They held their own inside, outscoring the Bulls 60-48 and even going 12-12 on second chance shots.

Key moment

Doncic, Klay Thompson and Irving scored three straight goals during a 17-0 run in the first period, giving Dallas a 22-9 lead.

Key statistics

Dallas led 28-13 points after turnovers.

Next

The Bulls will play a back-to-back home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. The Mavericks host the Phoenix Suns on Friday.

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