CHICAGO (AP) - The Jazz answered a big run with one of their own and withstood a final push down the stretch to walk away with another victory.
Those are adding up for Utah.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and the surging Jazz held off the Chicago Bulls 102-98 on Thursday night.
The Jazz went on a 24-4 run in the third quarter to grab a nine-point lead and emerged with their 10th win in 12 games after Chicago tied it in the closing minutes.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert each scored 17 for Utah. Mitchell hit two free throws with 19 seconds remaining, and Gobert had 12 rebounds. The Jazz also got big contributions from their bench, with their reserves outscoring the Bulls’ 36-23.
“Everybody did a little something in a given time to help us win the game,” coach Quin Snyder said. “And that’s how you win on the road and that’s how you win close games.”
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points and Lauri Markkanen scored 18. Wendell Carter Jr. added 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls lost for the third time in four games, but coach Jim Boylen made it clear he’s not about to change his rotation.
“We are laying the foundation and the building blocks,” he said. “We’re a new system, a new team with a new coach. I wanted to be a defensive team; we are. We need to improve our rebounding. … We need to improve offensively. I’m not going to be deterred from that mission. And I like this group of men. They work and they care. They try to represent the city. They play hard.”
The Jazz led 96-88 in the closing minutes before Chicago scored eight straight, tying it on LaVine’s 3 with 1:43 remaining.
Bogdanovic hit two free throws and Gobert dunked to make it a four-point game, before Carter made two foul shots for Chicago with 47 seconds remaining.
After Mitchell missed a 3, LaVine missed trying to draw a foul from Gobert on a wild potential tying drive. The Jazz got the rebound, and Mitchell hit two free throws with 19 seconds left for the final score.
“I hit him with the body, so I did the best I could,” LaVine said. “I didn’t just want to settle for a 3, so go in there to tie it up. It just didn’t happen. I didn’t convert a lot of those. I thought I was getting a lot of contact, but you got to go out there and make plays.”
TIP-INS
Jazz: Gobert got shaken up attempting a third-quarter layup when Chicago’s Daniel Gafford came from behind and hit him in the head, resulting in a flagrant foul. … The Jazz made 11 of 30 3-pointers, while the Bulls were 11 for 36 from beyond the arc. … Bogdanovic missed all five 3’s, but was 9 for 9 on free throws.
Bulls: F Chandler Hutchison (right shoulder) missed his 16th consecutive game, though he and Boylen said the second-year pro was healthy. Hutchison has not played since Nov. 27. … LaVine said his left ankle was sore after he turned it during the game.
BIG RUNS
The Bulls bridged the second and third quarters with a 15-0 run that gave them a 58-47 lead. But the Jazz responded with that 24-4 spurt.
They scored 12 straight, capped by a 3-pointer from Mitchell. Chicago was up 62-61 when Utah reeled off another 10 in a row, with Georges Niang nailing a 3 to make it 71-62.
“We did as good a job as we have all year just staying together and staying connected at both ends even when things weren’t easy,” Snyder said.
STERN TRIBUTE
There was a moment of silence before the game for longtime NBA Commissioner David Stern, who died Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Orlando on Saturday.
Bulls: Host Boston on Saturday.
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