Jimmy Butler poured in a game-high 39 points as the Bulls beat the Pelicans 117-110 in New Orleans.
Bobby Portis posted 21 points and 11 boards off the bench for Chicago, which has won four in-a-row to move into seventh place in the East at 38-and-39. Rajon Rondo had 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the victory.
Anthony Davis had 30 points and 11 boards for the Pelicans, who had won their previous two. DeMarcus Cousins chipped in with 26 and 18 in defeat.
The Pelicans, who had not lost in the Smoothie King Center since March 8 vs. Toronto, are now within one defeat or one Portland win from being officially out of the race for the eighth seed in the West.
Chicago ended New Orleans’ six-game home winning streak, while picking up a win that kept it in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, in the thick of a tight race with multiple teams.
“We were playing great basketball," Coach Alvin Gentry said after the game. "Of course it’s tougher on us, because we can’t afford to lose games. We have no room for error."