Butler Guides Bulls to Win Against Jazz

By ESPN

Offense was hard to come by from both the Bulls and Jazz on Thursday night, but when Chicago needed baskets down the stretch, they turned to All-Star Jimmy Butler and future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.

Butler scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bulls defeated the Jazz 85-77.

"We found a way. We hung on," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "On offense, you're going to have games like this over an 82-game schedule. It's going to come and go. Your constants have to be defense and rebounding. We did that all game long to give us a chance to win."

The Bulls have won four straight, including three on the road.

Chicago used 9-0 runs to start the third and fourth quarters that Utah never recovered from. Nikola Mirotic had a dunk, a steal and an assist during the fourth-quarter run that put the Bulls up 75-58.

The Jazz cut the lead to 80-75 late, but Wade and Butler hit jumpers to put the game away.

Wade scored 18 points for the Bulls and Robin Lopez posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

"The way we're playing right now, man, it's fun," Butler said.

The Jazz have lost two straight at home after going 4-1 during the preceding road trip.

Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz as Gordon Hayward added eight points and 12 rebounds.

The Jazz led 43-41 at halftime despite the Bulls shooting just 28.8 percent from the field. What the Bulls lacked in accuracy, they made up in volume -- taking 52 shots to Utah's 38 in the first half as the Jazz turned the ball over nine times.

"I don't know if it's a one-game thing," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of the offense. "We weren't very good, that's clear. We've had bad games before offensively. We had some open shots, we didn't make them. ... Sometimes when you're missing shots you let it impact everything. You just get stagnant.

"I don't see any reason, because we played this way tonight, that sirens are going off for our offense. ... I'm not despondent. ... We didn't play well tonight and lost to a really good team."

Thursday, November 17 Scoreboard

Washington 119, New York 112

Miami 96, Milwaukee 73

Houston 126, Portland 109

Minnesota 110, Philadelphia 86

Chicago 85, Utah 77

Friday, November 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Atlanta at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Phoenix at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Portland at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Brooklyn at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Golden State at Boston, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Toronto at Denver, 8 p.m.

San Antonio at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 19 Schedule (All Times Central)

Utah at Houston, 4 p.m.

Charlotte at New Orleans, 6 p.m.

Miami at  Washington, 6 p.m.

Dallas at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Boston at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Phoenix at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Memphis, 6 p.m.

Golden State at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago at Los Angeles Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

Atlanta at New York, 11 a.m.

Portland at Brooklyn, 2:30 p.m.

Indiana at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Sacramento, 8 p.m.

Utah at Denver, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m.