The Chicago Bulls have endured a rocky patch of inconsistency throughout the 2022-23 NBA season, a disappointment given their promising 46-win campaign last season. Amid the Bulls' inconsistencies, plenty have wondered whether Chicago would decide to blow things up and trade away their core led by Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.

But at least for one more night, Zach LaVine and the rest of the Bulls decided to shut those talks down with aplomb.

The two time Slam Dunk Contest champion woke up on Friday feeling dangerous, as he torched the Philadelphia 76ers to the tune of 41 points on an eye-popping 11 made threes to lead the Bulls to a 126-112 victory. However, despite having every reason to toot his own horn after the game, LaVine refused to do so.

Instead, Zach LaVine praised Nikola Vucevic, saying that he was the MVP of the game after dominating the shorthanded Sixers frontline with a monster triple double.

“I think Vooch is MVP of the night, man,” LaVine said, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

This was the perfect matchup for a big man of Nikola Vucevic's skillset, especially with Joel Embiid out due to injury. Vucevic had his way with PJ Tucker and Montrezl Harrell on the interior, dropping 19 points and 18 boards on stellar shooting. In addition, he also flexed his underrated court vision with a season-high 10 dimes, notching his fifth career-triple double in the process.

Without Vucevic, Zach LaVine would have had to work twice as hard to get to his spots en route to a torrid shooting display.

This win against the Sixers is their second in a row against a team with playoff hopes, following up their impressive performance against the streaking Brooklyn Nets with a worthy encore. Their season may not have gotten off on the right foot, but the Bulls still have time to continue climbing the Eastern Conference standings.