Bulls hand Jazz first loss
CHICAGO – DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 32 points, Zach LaVine added 26 and the Chicago Bulls handed the Utah Jazz their first loss, 107-99 on Saturday night.
The Bulls grabbed a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter and hung on after the Jazz pulled within five in the closing minutes.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell hit two free throws to cut it to 100-95 with 1:39 remaining. Nikola Vucevic answered with a 3 for Chicago and, after Rudy Gobert scored for the Jazz, drove for a layup to make it 10597 with just under a minute remaining.
DeRozan, whose previous high was 26 points, made 13 of 22 shots.
LaVine, playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, scored eight in the fourth quarter. Vucevic finished with 16 points – despite shooting 4 of 19 – and 12 rebounds, and the Bulls (5-1) took out the NBA’s lone remaining undefeated team.
Mitchell scored 30 for Utah. Gobert added 17 points and 19 rebounds. But the Jazz lost after winning their first four games.
The Bulls bridged the third and fourth quarters with an 18-5 run to turn a four-point game into a 94-77 edge.
A three-point play by Utah’s Jordan Clarkson momentarily halted the momentum. But Mitchell got called for a technical after missing a layup. LaVine hit the free throw, then nailed a 3 and cut backdoor for an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Lonzo Ball that made it 94-77 with 6:50 left.
Mitchell scored 22 in the first half as the Jazz rallied from 11 down to grab a 5754 lead.
They trailed 40-29 early in the second quarter following a 15-5 run keyed by a swarming defense and 10 points from DeRozan. But they outscored the Bulls 16-4 over the final 4 1/2 minutes to go from trailing by nine to up by three.
Mitchell scored eight in that stretch, hitting three free throws after getting bumped by LaVine to put Utah on top 55-54 with 1:40 remaining. Gobert added a hook shot with just over a minute left in the half.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Jordan Clarkson scored 16, though he was just 5 of 19 from the field. ... The Jazz opted to hold out G Mike Conley with the team visiting defending champion Milwaukee on Sunday.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan said F Patrick Williams was “still probably a little bit shocked” that he will miss four to six months because of torn ligaments in his left wrist. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 draft, he will need surgery to repair the injury sustained Thursday against the New York Knicks. Williams’ injury is another blow for a team already down one important young player, with G Coby White – the No. 7 pick in 2019 – recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. “I think their development, especially with a veteran group, would have been real important,” Donovan said.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Milwaukee on Sunday.
Bulls: Visit Boston on Monday.