SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, including the go-ahead basket with a minute left, to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 119-117 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Coby White scored 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, and had six assists for the Bulls, who survived a late comeback to beat Utah for the fourth straight time. Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 12 rebounds.
“We just got to stay the course, do what we need to do, pull out the victory and carry on,” DeRozan said. “Every single game is going to be tough.”
John Collins led Utah with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Collin Sexton had 24 points and seven assists. Brice Sensabaugh added a career-high 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in his first NBA start.
Utah trailed almost the entire time for the first three quarters, but Chicago never led by more than 12 points during that stretch and left room for the Jazz to rally in the fourth. They stayed close by outscoring the Bulls 22-8 in second chance points.
“We fought down to the wire,” Collins said. “Everybody stepped up. We had a lot of guys out but I just feel like we made a team effort to consistently compete and just leave it out on the court.”
Utah scored four straight baskets, bookended by 3-pointers from Sexton, for a 114-112 lead with 1:59 left.
DeRozan converted a 3-point play a minute later to put the Bulls back in front.
Sexton and Jordan Clarkson both missed potential winning 3-pointers in the final seconds.
“Down the stretch I thought the team really executed well, we got some good looks that didn’t go,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “That’s kind of the way it goes sometimes. But overall, I am happy with how the team played. They played really hard.”
The Jazz had a chance at a winning basket after technical fouls on Torrey Craig and Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming, along with Collins, following a brief scuffle near the Chicago bench. It allowed Clarkson to tie the game on a free throw with nine seconds left.
DeRozan stepped to the line and ultimately secured the win with a pair of free throws on the other end.
“We’ve got to be better in those moments,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “Not only do we lose a point on a technical foul, we also iced our free throw shooter. I give DeMar a lot of credit for being mentally tough enough.”
White made back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute of the first quarter, sparking a 13-2 run extending into the second quarter that gave Chicago a 40-29 lead.
Utah chipped away at the deficit and cut it to 57-54 on a pair of free throws from Clarkson. Vucevic and DeRozan countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the Jazz from drawing closer before halftime.
The Bulls made 13 3-pointers in the first half.
Five straight baskets, highlighted by 3-pointers from White and Alex Caruso, helped Chicago extend its lead to 78-68 five minutes into the third quarter.
It seemed like the Bulls were on the verge of pulling away for good, but the Jazz never let it happen.
“Every aspect of the game was tough,” DeRozan said.
UP NEXT
Chicago visits Golden State on Thursday night.
Utah visits Denver on Saturday night.
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