FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Phoenix 106, Bulls 97. (Bulls: 15-17, 7-10 at home).
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 24pts. Suns: Ayton and Booker each with 22pts.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Young: 10. Suns: Ayton: 7.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Young: 5. Suns: Paul: 15.
CCI STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Bulls committed 10 fourth quarter turnovers.
CCI RECAP: The Bulls held a 16 point third quarter lead over the Suns only to see the Bulls hit the wall enabling Phoenix to get back in the game with help from the Bulls, who collected 19 turnovers, allowing Phoenix to score 24 points. The Bulls were outscored in the final period 32-16. The Bulls scored just six points in the final five minutes. The Bulls backcourt of Zach LaVine, Coby White and first backcourt reserve Tomas Satoransky scored a combined 56 points, shooting 54%. Thad Young registered another strong game picking up his third double-double on the season with a 13-10-5 game.
Chris Paul was fabulous setting up his teammates, dishing out 15 assists. Devin Booker added 22 points, 10 in the first quarter. Deandre Ayton was impressive with 22-7-3 blocked shots. Frank Kaminsky scored 15 off the bench.
UP NEXT: At Raptors (Tampa) Sunday.
CCI NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Portland 93. LeBron James had an impressive 28-11-7, four steals and three blocked shots game.
Golden State 130, Charlotte 121. Draymond Green dished out a career high 19 assists in addition to 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Toronto 122, Houston 111. Pascal Siakam, Head Coach Nick Nurse and five assistant coaches were unavailable for the contest due to the NBA's health and safety protocols. Assistant Sergio Scariolo coached the team in Nurse's absence.
Boston 118, Indiana 112. Kemba Walker scored a season high 32 points as Boston ended a three game slide. Indiana has lost three straight.
Miami 124, Utah 116. Jimmy Butler scored a season high 33 points. Don't look now but the Heat have won five straight.
Los Angeles Clippers 119, Memphis 99. The two teams split a mini two game series in Memphis. Ja Morant was ejected late in the fourth quarter for arguing with officials.
Oklahoma City 118, Atlanta 109. The Thunder changed uniforms at halftime because of a mix-up leaving both team wearing similar colors to start the game. The Thunder wore orange while the Hawks wore red.
Memphis 110, Detroit 107. The Kings ended a nine game losing streak. Sacramento rallied from an eight point fourth quarter deficit.
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