Chicago Bulls Beat Utah Jazz 118-100, Tie Celtics for First in East

Perhaps they just didn't want to ruin the mood of the celebration. In a game which was tight until it started, the Bulls scored the first 11 points, raced to a 27-point halftime lead and then watched the '91 championship team celebrate their 20-year reunion, which concluded with Michael Jordan predicting the possibility of six more banners for the present team. 

Chicago seemed to virtually take the second half off though, as they were outscored by nine by the Jazz in the second half. Particularly on the defensive end, the second half lacked the usual energy and tenacity normally displayed by the Bulls. 

Whenever the Jazz would get to within 13-15 points though, the Bulls would amp things back up and push the lead back up to the 18-20 point range, which is where the game ended.

The Bulls have now won their last three games by a total of 53 points. It was their sixth win in a row, ninth in 10 games and 13th in 15 tries. It was also the Bulls' 11th straight win at home. 

Perhaps it was the lack of halftime adjustments. Perhaps it was because the team was playing its fifth game in seven days. Perhaps it was just boredom. For most of the second half, the Jazz gradually worked their way back into the game.

Maybe it was just the constant whistle blowing which gave the Jazz 23 second-half free throws. On both ends of the court, the second half was belabored as the pace was constantly disrupted by free throws and fouls. In all, nearly an average of one per minute as 46 fouls were called in the game. Taj Gibson was the chief victim, fouling out on only 17 minutes of play. 

Offensively, the Bulls unleashed the three-point shot at a rate heretofore never seen in club history. They hit a club record 18 from behind the arc on only 32 attempts. Five of those came from Derrick Rose who scored 26 points on just 17 shots. 

Deng had his second straight impressive all-around game, scoring 26 points and packaging that together with seven rebounds and six assists. C.J. Watson also had a spectacular game, scoring 16 points with four three-pointers, five rebounds and eight assists in just 17 minutes of play.

In all, it was a game which the Bulls let get closer than it should have been, and it's probable that watching the halftime celebration played into that. Whatever margin was lost because of that was probably worth the price. They had to be inspired by the notion of banner No. 7 hanging from the rafters.