Jazz Lose First Game Of The Season To Bulls

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to the Chicago Bulls 107-99. The Jazz shot just 38 percent from the floor and committed 20 turnovers as the offense struggled to find a rhythm without guard Mike Conley who rested on the front end of the weekend’s back-to-back games.

First Quarter:

The Jazz got off to a slow start against the Bulls shooting just 8-25 from the floor and 1-11 from three in the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell’s shooting struggles appeared to be plaguing him once again to open the game, but after seeing 0-2 from three, started attacking the rim and racked up nine first quarter points.

🕷➡️⬅️🛑🌪 ➡️🏀😅#TakeNote @spidadmitchellhttps://t.co/nGas6PDdEb

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 31, 2021

The Bulls’ newest acquisitions in Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan carried Chicago early combining for 6-11 shooting and 15 points. After one, the Jazz trailed the Bulls 25-24.

Second Quarter:

The Bulls jumped on the Jazz to open the second quarter building a 32-24 lead thanks to a 7-0 run.

The Jazz were plagued by turnovers through the first 18 minutes of the game as they had eight turnovers through the first 20 minutes of the game. However, Mitchell continued his terrific play after he returned to the floor adding 13 second quarter points to bring his total to 22 points at the half.

Spida starting to cook 🕷🔥#TakeNote https://t.co/wdimappy0r

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 31, 2021

Joe Ingles added nine points on 3-7 shooting from deep while Rudy Gobert added seven points and nine rebounds in the first half. However, outside of Mitchell and Ingles, the Jazz guardline struggled without Mike Conley in the lineup. Jordan Clarkson shot just 1-11 from the field while Jared Butler was a -18 in just six minutes on the floor.

Despite three Bulls starters scoring in double-digits in the first 24 minutes, the Jazz used a 19-7 run to close the first half to take a 57-54 lead at the break.

Third Quarter:

After a strong second quarter, the Jazz struggled mightily in the third scoring just 15 points on offense. The team wasn’t bad defensively allowing just 25 points to the Bulls, but a lack of execution and six third quarter turnovers undid any Jazz momentum.

Butler continued to struggle in his third quarter minutes. The game continues to move at an uneasy pace for the rookie as he consistently has to reset his offensive attack to find a rhythm.

The @utahjazz were outscored by 10 in the third quarter and trail the @chicagobulls 79-72.

Jazz had just 15 points in the third quarter. #takenote pic.twitter.com/hDKaUu95bE

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 31, 2021

The Bulls meanwhile continued their strong defense to open the season. Chicago was third in the NBA in forcing the turnovers entering the game.

The Jazz trailed 79-72 after the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

Without Conley, the Jazz couldn’t afford bad nights from Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic but that’s what they got.

The Jazz got just 30 points on 10-33 shooting from the two scorers who failed to find a groove for most of the night.

Between the Jazz poor shooting (38 percent) and 20 turnovers, the roster didn’t have enough offense to combat the strong Bulls defense.

Mitchell led the team in scoring with 30 points while Gobert added 17 points and 19 rebounds as the Jazz suffered their first loss of the season. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 32 points.