|
 The Jazz small forward, who's having a career year, didn't wait
until the buzzer to put the game away in overtime.
Hayward scored a team-high 27 and had a big overtime session Monday
night to lead the Jazz to a 105-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Hayward scored eight points in overtime to help the Jazz improve to
22-25. Hayward added 12 rebounds and seven assists as Utah won its
third consecutive game for the first time all season.
"For me, it's just all about winning. Winning basketball games,"
Hayward said. "It feels good to win the first three in a row."
Guard Rodney Hood totaled 19 points before fouling out early in
overtime for the Jazz.
Guard Jimmy Butler scored 26 points with seven rebounds and six
assists for the Bulls, who fell for the second consecutive day. The
Bulls, now 26-21, have lost five of seven games.
"Obviously a very tough way to lose that one," Bulls coach Fred
Hoiberg said. "I felt that we gave it away. We had our chances
there, you know. They made the plays to win."
Hayward put the Jazz up 99-95 in overtime after the Bulls struggled
to get their offense going thanks to a couple of turnovers, and that
proved to be enough of a lead.
Chicago only managed to score three points in the overtime period,
on free throws by forward Taj Gibson and Butler.
Bulls center Pau Gasol scored 19 points with eight rebounds before
fouling out in overtime.
Guard Derrick Rose added 14 points for the Bulls, but was outplayed
for the most part by his Jazz counterpart, point guard Raul Neto.
The Brazilian rookie had a career-high 14 points and played tough
defense all night for Utah.
Jazz forward Derrick Favors finished with 13 points and eight
rebounds, center Rudy Gobert contributed 16 points and 12 boards,
and guard Trey Burke added 10 points off the bench in the win.
Nobody played better than Hayward, though.
"I told him in November that he could keep getting better," Jazz
coach Quin Snyder said. "I think he believed it and he has worked at
it. That is the biggest thing."
The end of regulation was a bit wild.
[to top of second column] |
Rose gave the Bulls a 93-90 lead with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds
remaining, and he even bowed at half court after nailing the clutch
shot.
Hayward was fouled on the Jazz's next possession and hit the first
of two free throws with 13 seconds left.
Utah got a lucky bounce after the missed Hayward free throw. After
Hood got the ball, the Jazz took a timeout, Hayward drove past Gasol
to tie it up with a tough inside shot with 4.5 seconds left.
Hayward then forced Butler into a turnover, tipping the ball off of
the Bulls' star's hand with 3.8 left. The Jazz small forward,
however, missed a potential game-winning jumper off the side of the
backboard.
The Jazz improved to 4-0 all-time in regular-season overtime games
against Chicago and 5-0 including playoffs.
"I hope that at some point we won't get too excited about a
three-game winning streak," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I will say
I'm happy about a three-game winning streak. As much as I don't want
to say it, I'm happy with it."
NOTES: Bulls G/F Mike Dunleavy was assigned to the Santa Cruz
Warriors of the NBA Development League on a flexible assignment.
Dunleavy, who hasn't played for the Bulls yet this season, continues
to rehab his way into shape after undergoing a lower back
microdiscectomy procedure in September. ... Jazz F Derrick Favors
revealed the cause of his back injury, which kept him out of 16
games the past month. He was sleeping on his stomach on an old
mattress. "I'm in the process of changing my mattress now," he told
reporters at Monday's shootaround. ... Jazz G Dante Exum and F Joe
Ingles and the Bulls F Cameron Bairstow are from Australia. The
Aussies played together in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. ... Bulls
associate head coach Jim Boylen was the head coach of the University
of Utah's basketball team from 2007-11.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
