Bulls 92, Jazz 85
CHICAGO – Derrick Rose scored 22 points and Nikola Mirotic and Taj Gibson each had 15 as the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 92-85 on Saturday night at the United Center.
Four players scored in double figures for Chicago (35-33), which never trailed. The Bulls won for the third time in four games and remained in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference spot.
Guard Jimmy Butler rounded out the Bulls' balanced scoring attack with 13 points and six rebounds.
Derrick Favors led Utah (33-36) with a game-high 24 points and Shelvin Mack finished with 15 points. Rodney Hood scored 14 points for the Jazz, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
The Bulls hit their first seven shots from the field and led 50-40 at halftime, ending the half shooting 52.4 percent.
Rose, who along with Butler remains on limited minutes to avoid reaggravating recent injuries, sparked the first-half of the effort with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.
Rose continued to be effective offensively in the second half and finished the win by connecting on 10 of 15 from the field. Rose also had four assists and three rebounds.
Utah failed to keep pace after the Bulls' hot shooting start. The Jazz, who trailed by as many as 15 points, cut the deficit to six in the third quarter before the Bulls again extended their lead to double figures.
The Jazz made one final surge and drew to within 91-85 with less than 20 seconds remaining before Butler split two free throws to cap the win.
Favors scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for the Jazz and Gordon Hayward, who missed two games with plantar fasciitis, struggled from the field in his return and finished 4 of 13 for nine points.
NOTES: Bulls G E'Twaun Moore is expected be sidelined for a week after sustaining a hamstring injury March 17 against Brooklyn. ... C Pau Gasol missed his fourth straight game because of swelling in his right knee. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg expects Gasol to return to practice on a limited basis on Sunday and will re-evaluate when the All-Star could return after that. ... Jazz F Gordon Hayward returned to the starting line-up after missing the last two games because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. ... The Jazz, who are fighting for a Western Conference playoff spot, played the first of five straight road games and won't play at home again until March 28 against the Lakers. "It's close enough to the end," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We need to be competitive -- more than competitive -- we need to win some of these games to have the opportunity to keep playing."