The Chicago Bulls picked up there 4th straight win and 3rd in a row on the row as they won a low scoring affair over the Utah Jazz 85-77. With the win the Bulls improve to 8-4 on the season. It was the 2nd loss in a row at home for Utah as they fell to 7-6 overall.
The Bulls built a 7-point lead early in the 1st quarter at 12-5. Utah came back and a Gordon Hayward 3-pointer tied the game at 14 all. The teams played a pretty even quarter after that and the Jazz held a 1-point lead 26-25 after the 1st quarter.
The Bulls again jumped out to a lead early in the 2nd quarter. This time the lead was 5-point on a couple of occasions. Utah bounced back tying the game at 34 and then again at 36. There was a 2 plus minute scoring drought before Hayward split a pair of free throws to give Utah a 1-point lead at 37-36. It was another even quarter. low scoring, but even. The Jazz did outscored the Bulls by 1-point in the quarter 17-16 and went into half time with a 43-41 lead.
The 3rd quarter started out like the other two quarters. The Bulls jumped out to a 6-point lead, but this time the Jazz could never quite get all the way back. The closet the Jazz could get was 4 points. The Bulls pushed the lead back to 8-points by the end of the quarter and had a 66-58 lead headed into the final quarter.
The Bulls scored the first 9 points of the 4th quarter to take a 75-58 lead. The Jazz cut the leas to 5 with just under 2 minutes left to play at 82-77, but those where the last points the Jazz would score in the game. Both teams scored 19 points apiece in the 4th quarter which led to the Bulls picking up an 85-77 win.
The Bulls where led by Jimmy Butler who had a game high 20 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with 12. Butler also handed tied for the game high in assists with 3. Dwayne Wade scored 18 points and Robin Lopez posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rajon Rondo sat out his second straight game with an ankle injury.
The Jazz where led by Rudy Gobert who had 16 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Dante Exum scored 14 points while Rodney Hood added 12 points. Trey Lyles came off the Utah bench to score 11 points. Gordon Hayward managed just 8 points on the night, but did tie for the gam high in assists with 3.
The Bulls get a day off, but then the road trip continues as they face the 10-2 Los Angeles Clippers Friday night. The Jazz will try to snap there 2-game losing streak in Houston on Friday as they take on the 7-5 Rockets.
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