Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) shoots as Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) and forward DeMar DeRozan (11) defend against him during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, in Chicago.
David Banks, Associated Press
CHICAGO — The Utah Jazz were beat by the Chicago Bulls, 126-118, Saturday night at the United Center.
The Jazz were coming off a win in Houston that snapped a five-game losing streak and the Bulls were on the second night of a back-to-back set, but the Jazz made things hard for themselves in the final quarter.
Here are three keys to the Jazz’s loss:
The Jazz went into the fourth quarter with a five-point lead and the Bulls would eventually get up by as many as 10 points, forcing the Jazz to try to dig out of a hole in the final minutes. The Jazz defense allowed 42 points in the final 12 minutes, including a combined 27 points from DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
The Bulls were shooting 33.3% from deep through the first three quarters and then went an incredible 6-of-7 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, making things even more dicey for the Jazz.
Lauri Markkanen had 28 points, 16 of which came from dunks. But he shot just 2-of-7 from deep and missed two really good looks in the final moments which could have closed the gap a little bit more for the Jazz.