Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis continues to come into form as he had another nice game on Saturday night against the Phoenix Suns. Buzelis finished the game with 15 points on 5-10 shooting. He went 3-7 from deep and added three rebounds and one assist. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the Bulls a much-needed win at home. The Suns won the game 121-117.

The Bulls have now lost six games in a row and 10 of their last 13. One bright spot during this skid, however, has been Matas Buzelis. It didn’t happen instantly, but Buzelis has found a way to be a consistent impact player in year one. Suns star Kevin Durant is impressed.

“I like Matas,” Kevin Durant said, according to a post from K.C. Johnson. “I liked him when he was with G League Ignite. He’s long, athletic, can shoot it. He’s definitely going to have some bumps and bruises as he gets through his first few years in the league trying to figure things out.”

Durant has already seen a lot of good things from Buzelis, and he knows that the youngster will only get better as time goes on.

“But the more experience, the more reps he gets as a starter the better he’ll become,” he continued. “Billy’s [Donovan] giving him more opportunities. Just play. I hear (Donovan) on the sidelines, ‘Attack. Shoot the ball. Be aggressive.’ His teammates encourage him. Playing will make you a better player.”

Buzelis has been working his way into the starting lineup recently, and he has looked good. He is now averaging 15 minutes per game and 6.3 points per game. Buzelis is also averaging 2.9 rebounds per game and 0.6 assists per game.

The Bulls have gotten good play from Buzelis as of late, but they haven’t been winning games. After the loss, Chicago fell to 22-35 on the year. They remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.