The Sports Xchange
Nov 28, 2017
CHICAGO -- Devin Booker scored 33 points and TJ Warren added 25 as the Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 104-99 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Tyler Ulis finished with 14 points for the Suns (8-14), who built a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter and then had to hold on to beat the Bulls for the second time in nine days.
Alex Len grabbed 18 rebounds for the Suns to go along with 13 points.
Lauri Markkanen's 3-point field goal got the Bulls as close as 102-99 in the final minute, but Warren hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds remaining to close out the win.
Justin Holiday, who got the Bulls to within 99-94 with 1:50 remaining, led the Bulls with 25 points. Kris Dunn scored 24 points for Chicago (3-16), which dropped its sixth straight game. Chicago also got 12 points from Markkanen and 10 from Robin Lopez.
Chicago got to within three points late in the third quarter when Antonio Blakeney split a pair of free throws, but never got closer. A Mike James 3-point field goal with 9:52 remaining again extended the Suns' advantage to 10 points.
The Suns built an 11-point lead with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter when Ulis converted a three-point play to give Phoenix its biggest lead of the night to that point. Booker then extended the cushion to 63-49 with a 3-point field goal as the Suns capped a 17-6 run to begin the second half.
Phoenix led 46-43 at halftime.
NOTES: Suns G Devin Booker returned after missing a game with inflammation in his right big toe. Interim coach Jay Triano said before Tuesday's game that Booker would not face a minutes restriction. ...The Suns played the second contest of a six-game road trip that will continue Wednesday in Detroit. ...The Suns completed their first season sweep of the Bulls since the 2007-08 season. ...Bulls G Zach LaVine (knee) and F Nikola Mirotic (facial fractures) won't travel to Denver on Wednesday and will continue to work out as they move closer to looking to return to the lineup. Coach Fred Hoiberg said LaVine experienced hamstring and quadriceps soreness after practicing in a 5-on-5 setting on Monday and that both he and Mirotic -- who practiced Monday for the first time since an altercation with teammate Bobby Portis on Oct. 17 -- need to work themselves back into playing shape.