Ayton heats up in 4th quarter, carries Suns to win over Bulls

CHICAGO – Deandre Ayton inconsistently finished around the basket until the game was on the line.

Ayton scored 12 of his 28 in the fourth quarter on 5-of-7 shooting in leading Phoenix past Chicago, 112-104, Saturday night before 20,506 fans at United Center.

Devin Booker went for a team-high 29 points as Phoenix (23-34) bounced back from a 17-point loss at defending NBA champion Toronto to upend the Bulls (19-38), who led by as many as 17 in the first half.

Ayton played a big role in the comeback.

Taking advantage of Chicago’s lack of size, Ayton grabbed 19 rebounds with 10 coming on the offensive glass. He also was a presence in the defensive end late as he forced Zach Lavine into a turnover and later a short miss that led to Devin Booker scoring in transition to give Phoenix a 106-98 lead with 3:06 remaining in the game.

Rookie Coby White led Chicago with a game-high 33, hitting 7-of-13 from 3.

Phoenix will conclude a three-game road trip Monday at Utah, which defeated the Suns back in October by a point in the only meeting so far between the two teams.

Player of the game: Deandre Ayton

Ayton had a double-double Friday night – 17 and 10 – but he didn’t impact the game.

A night later, he put up a better double-double to offset his seven turnovers. Ayton handled the constant hands and bodies around him much better in the fourth quarter and that proved to be a big reason he played so well in helping Phoenix close out Chicago.

Key moments

Fourth quarter: Phoenix overcame giving up 29 points off 20 turnovers to beat Chicago in the first of two meetings between the two teams.

Third quarter: Phoenix opened the second half on a 13-0 run in taking a 6057 lead before taking an 83-80 advantage going into the fourth.

Ayton scored six points in the run while Booker added five. Booker later hit a 3 to give Phoenix an 81-80 lead with 26.1 seconds left in the quarter.

First half: The Bulls led 57-47 at the half as they scored 24 points off 16 Phoenix turnovers. White scored 15 points while LaVine added 14.

Booker and Ricky Rubio each had 12 in the first half. The Suns led by eight in the first half, but they trailed by as many as 17.

Next game

Suns at Utah Jazz, Monday, 7 p.m., Vivint Smart Home Arena.

DAVID BANKS/USA TODAY SPORTS Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) dunks the ball on Chicago Bulls forward Daniel Gafford (12) during the first half Saturday at United Center in Chicago.

DAVID BANKS/USA TODAY SPORTS Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky (31) defends Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the first half at United Center.