Bulls beat Nets 124-102 to split home-and-home set

CHICAGO (AP) — Coby White scored 24 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 19 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 124-102 on Sunday night to split a home-and-home set.

The Nets won the opener 112-109 on Friday night in Brooklyn.

Nikola Vucevic added 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for Chicago. Matas Buzelis also scored 17 points.

Nolan Traore scored 16 points for Brooklyn. Danny Wolf and Jalen Wilson each had 14. The Nets have lost nine of 11.

Dosunmu had 3-pointers at the beginning and end of a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to help the Bulls take a 39-22 lead into the second. Chicago led 70-51 at the half and the advantage stayed above 20 points for most of the second half.

The Bulls average more than 20,000 fans at the United Center, but there were plenty of empty seats at tip-off, which came 30 minutes after the Los Angeles Rams and Bears kicked off their NFC division round game a few miles away at Soldier Field. The Bears’ first touchdown occurred just before an early timeout and got a loud roar from the crowd when a replay was shown on the video board.

Nets: Host Phoenix on Monday night.

Bulls: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

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

Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) goes up to shoot against Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Brooklyn Nets' Nolan Traore (88) goes up for a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Brooklyn Nets' Egor Demin (8) goes up for a shot against Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) goes up for a shot against Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) battles Chicago Bulls' Matas Buzelis (14) for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

PHOENIX (AP) — Lauren Betts had 16 points and made a huge block late, and UCLA withstood a late charge by Texas on Friday night for a 51-44 win to reach the women's NCAA Tournament national championship game for the first time.

Manhandled by eventual national champion UConn in their first Final Four a year ago, the Bruins (36-1) dominated their way to another national semifinal with the best season in program history.

A chance at a first national championship game appearance had to go through the only team to beat them this season.

Overpowered in the first meeting, the Bruins turned the bully tables on Texas (35-4), shutting down All-American Madison Booker while building a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Longhorns are one of the nation's best defensive teams and flexed their D during a 12-2 run that cut UCLA's lead to 47-44.

Betts swatted the Texas run to halt.

She blocked Booker's shot with 20 seconds left and Kiki Rice hit two free throws, sending coach Cori Close's crew into the title game.

The grinding win earns the Bruins a spot Sunday’s title game against South Carolina, the three-time national champions who ended reigning champion UConn’s undefeated season and left Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma fuming.

So was Booker after a brutal finish to what was otherwise a stellar season. She hit her first shot, missed her next 17 and finished with six points on 3-of-23 shooting.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

UCLA head coach Cori Close motions towards the court during the first half of a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game between UCLA and Texas at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) shoots against Texas during the first half of a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Texas head coach Vic Schaefer motions towards the court during the first half of a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) drives against Texas guard Bryanna Preston, left, during the first half of a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)