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Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 10
rebounds for the Bulls, who dropped their fifth consecutive
game. Thaddeus Young (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Lauri
Markkanen (16 points, 10 rebounds) also notched double-doubles.
The Bulls pulled within 115-112 with 52.8 seconds remaining but
could not get any closer. Phoenix firmly held its lead in the
final minute with a driving layup by Booker and four free throws
by Paul.
The Suns carried a 94-86 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Chicago trailed by as many as 16 points during the third quarter
after a jump shot by Mikal Bridges put Phoenix on top 81-65 with
7:40 remaining. The Bulls rallied with a 15-4 run to cut the
deficit to 85-80 with 2:40 to play in the quarter.
The gap remained at five points when Cameron Johnson drilled a
3-pointer to extend the Suns' lead to eight points with 24.4
seconds to go in the third quarter.
Phoenix built a 67-58 lead heading into halftime. Booker had 22
points to lead all scorers at the break.
Chicago opened a seven-point advantage in the first four
minutes. Markkanen had a dunk and a three-point play during the
early outburst that put the Bulls ahead 13-6.
The Suns bounced back to lead by as many as five points late in
the first quarter. A driving layup by Saric put Phoenix on top
39-34 with 3.8 seconds remaining in the period, but Denzel
Valentine quickly answered by burying a 3-pointer with 0.6
seconds to go for the Bulls.
By halftime, Phoenix had increased its lead to nine. Deandre
Ayton received an alley-oop pass from Booker and converted with
a dunk to cap a red-hot half for the Suns.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine (sprained right ankle) did not play. He
leads the team in scoring at 27.5 points per game.
--Field Level Media
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