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Boozer returns, but Rose hits key shots as Bulls clip Jazz

Feb 10, 2011 - 6:02 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose made two key free throws with 13 seconds remaining, and the Chicago Bulls snuck past the Utah Jazz, 91-86.

Rose ended with 29 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who improved to 2-2 on a five-game road trip.

The story coming into the game was Carlos Boozer's return to Salt Lake City.

Boozer, a two-time All-Star with the Jazz, played six seasons in Utah and was the team's leading scorer last season when the club captured the Northwest Division title. The Duke product signed with Chicago in July and has been a key cog in the Bulls' rise to the top in the Central. He had 14 points and six rebounds on Wednesday.

Al Jefferson finished with 26 points and eight boards for the Jazz, who have dropped three straight home games. Paul Millsap chipped in with 20 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, which got 13 points and 10 boards from Andrei Kirilenko.

Deron Williams donated 11 points and 12 assists, but committed three of his five turnovers in the final minute of play.

"It was a tough loss. Put it on me, because at the end of the game, I had the ball in my hands, I've gotta make the plays to win the game," said a pained Williams.

Rose's three-pointer at the midway mark of the fourth gave Chicago a 78-73 lead. But back-to-back layups from Jefferson and Williams cut the gap to one.

Kyle Korver made a shot from beyond the arc with 2:17 remaining to give the Bulls an 87-83 margin. Jefferson made a layup while being fouled at the other end, but he missed the foul shot.

Jefferson then blocked Boozer's attempted layup, and Kirilenko made 1-of-2 from the line to make it 87-86 with 1:28 left.

Rose missed a short jumper but made up for it with a steal of Williams. Kirilenko kept the Jazz alive with a block of Luol Deng's jumper. But Williams lost the ball again, leading to a pair of Rose free throws with 13 ticks to go.

Williams capped off his bad finish with another turnover on the ensuing Utah possession. Ronnie Brewer made a pair of foul shots to make it 91-86 with 7.4 seconds to play.

Williams missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.

"(Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and I) had figured they were going to run some of the same plays from our years, and late in the game when (Williams) drove and kicked it, Ronnie got the steal and sealed the game for us. We knew it was one of two plays and we picked the right one," boasted Boozer.

Rose's driving layup gave the Bulls a 21-13 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter. But the Jazz scored the final 10 points of the frame to take a 23-21 edge into the second.

Chicago started the second stanza on a 13-3 run to take a 34-26 lead on Boozer's slam with 5:17 remaining. Utah cut its deficit to 44-41 at the half.

Trailing by four, 58-54, with under 6 1/2 minutes left in the third, the Jazz scored six straight points. Jefferson's jumper gave Utah a 60-58 lead with 4:41 to go.

The Bulls scored the final eight points of the frame to take a 66-60 margin into the fourth.

Game Notes

Utah won both meetings with Chicago last season...Jazz center Mehmet Okur saw a back specialist on Monday and will be out of action indefinitely...The Bulls went 20-of-26 from the foul line, while Utah went 11-of-21 from the charity stripe...Raja Bell had 11 points in defeat.