Derrick Rose helps Chicago Bulls to 91-86 victory over Utah Jazz
Derrick Rose scored 29 points and seven assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 91-86 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz at the Energy Solutions Arena in Utah on Wednesday night.
Rose’s team-mate Carlos Boozer, who didn’t have a great night, got a nasty reception from the home fans. However, Boozer shrugged off the fans reaction. He said, ”It was a little bit of everything. I am just happy we won. We had two losses in a row. It was
a grind-out game that we did not have a good rhythm for but we just kept fighting, playing hard. Sometimes when you keep grinding, things go your way a little bit."
Although only two Chicago players reached double figures, the most interesting aspect of the Bulls scoreboard was that not even a single player remained scoreless; everyone contributed.
Boozer played a simple but effective game as he came off the bench to score 14 points, three assists, and six rebounds for the Bulls, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Paul Millsap did all he could as he scored 20 points and 14 rebounds for Utah in the
home defeat.
Al Jefferson had 26 points and eight rebounds, while forward Andrei Kirilenko ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their third consecutive home game. Deron Williams played well as he posted 11 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, who
lost their 23rd game of the 2010-11 season.
Match Analysis
It was the fifth time this season that the Bulls entered a game on the back of a two-game losing streak. However, they stayed close in all of them, as they improved to 5-0 when needing to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Rose played the opening quarter aggressively as he scored a brilliant driving lay-up with over four minutes to go in the first quarter to give the Bulls a 21-13 lead. On the other hand, the Jazz went on a 10-0 run to take a 23-21 lead into the second.
Boozer praised Roses’ performance on the night by saying, "He’s been playing like that the whole season. It is why we keep chanting his name for MVP because he's been phenomenal all year."
Chicago came out strongly in the second quarter as they started on a 13-3 run to take a 34-26 edge with five minutes to go. Utah once again fought until the final crucial moment to cut the deficit to 44-41 at half time.
The Jazz got it going offensively at the start of the third quarter and scored six straight points to turn the three-point deficit into a 60-58 lead with four minutes remaining in the third. However, the Bulls scored the final eight points to take a 66-60
advantage into the final stanza.
Rose managed a three-pointer to extend the Bulls lead to 78-73 but back-to-back layups from Jefferson and Williams cut the margin to 87-86 with over a minute left.
The Jazz then got an excellent opportunity to take the lead in the final minute but Deron Williams committed three of his five turnovers in the final minute of play. Rose and Brewer had two free throws each to seal the Bulls 35th win of the 2010-11
season.
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