NBA: Suns continued their winning streak as Bulls are back to winning ways

(Basketball news) The Suns matched their franchise best start as they won 115-109 against the Utah Jazz. For the Suns, Devin Booker scored 33 points, Paul had 15 of his season-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Suns rallied for their seventh straight win as Cam Johnson started in place of Crowder, he went on to pour in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Paul just missed a triple-double with 14 assists and nine rebounds as the Suns improved their NBA-best record to 37-9, matching the 2006-07 team for the best start in franchise history. For the Jazz,, Jordan Clarkson led them with 22 points, including three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that made things interesting in the final minute as they were missing all-Stars Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. This was subsequently the Jazz losing for the eight time in 11 games.

“We had a good start to the game and then we got a little comfortable,'' Booker said. ''Those guys were ready to play. They took advantage of their opportunity, came out aggressive and confident. Once they got confidence, they were a little tougher to stop.''

“Collectively, we played hard,'' Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. ''That's a credit to our guys because the team we played played hard. That's why it was such a competitive game. I think what Chris (Paul) did in the fourth quarter, he's unique, obviously.''

The Chicago Bulls went back to winning ways in a close encounter as they won 111-110 against the Oklahoma City Thunders. For the Bulls, rookie Nicola Vucevic had 26 points and 15 rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu scored a season-high 24 points and Zach LaVine added 23 as DeMar DeRozan, who averages 26.3 points per game was rested. For the OKC, Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and 10 assists and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder, who have lost 11 of 12. With this result the Bulls moved up to second in the Eastern Conference as they improved their record to 29-17.

''Two of our primary ball handlers in Lonzo and Alex are not here, and when you get into these situations in the fourth quarter where teams turn up the defensive pressure and pick up full court, you've got to be able to handle it,'' Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

''It felt good,'' LaVine said. ''I got tired of just sitting at home watching. I'm about as healthy as I can get, but it just sucks sitting at home and not being able to help.''

''I give our guys a lot of credit,'' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. ''The ball pressure really amped up and they brought a lot of energy. To go out there and pressure the ball like that was huge for us because it took them out of their offense and didn't allow them to use their size at the (center position).''

Also read: NBA: Lakers lose against the Heat as Warriors rallied past the Utah Jazz

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