Keyonte George matched his career high with 33 points and John Collins had a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Utah Jazz topped the Chicago Bulls 135-126 on Monday for their first victory of the season.
Outscored by 112 points in a six-game losing streak to open the campaign, the Jazz led by as many as 15 against the Bulls, who made a push in the third quarter but couldn’t sustain it.
After drawing within 80-79 of Utah during a 40-point third, Chicago was outscored by 10 the rest of the way.
Ball movement boosted Utah, which reached a season high in assists before the end of the third quarter on the way to collecting 35. The Jazz also connected on a season-best 16 3-pointers.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, who spent his first four NBA seasons with Chicago, missed his third consecutive game with back spasms.
Bulls leading scorer Zach LaVine also missed the game with a strained right adductor he sustained during Friday’s loss at Brooklyn.
Still, six Chicago players finished in double figures to keep the team afloat. Coby White led the way with 28 points on 6-of-9 3-point shooting, Ayo Dosunmu added 25 points, and Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Josh Giddey (15 points), Patrick Williams (13), and Talen Horton-Tucker (10) followed.
Walker Kessler had a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz. Collin Sexton scored 24 points, Cody Williams had 11 and George dished a game-high nine assists.
Uneven long-range shooting contributed to a slow start for the Bulls, who trailed 62-53 at the half. Utah shot 52.3 percent in the first half compared to 39.2 percent for Chicago, which was 6-for-20 from beyond the arc.
George scored 12 first-half points, Kessler grabbed 10 rebounds and Collins contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
Vucevic (15 points) and Dosunmu (12) were double-figure scorers for the Bulls in the first half.
The Jazz had a 59-42 edge on the glass in the game.
Utah stopped a four-game series winning streak for Chicago.
–Field Level Media
