NBA: Collin Sexton leads undermanned Bulls past Suns

Collin Sexton scored a season-high 30 points, and Tre Jones added 21 as the depleted Chicago Bulls never trailed in a 105-103 win over the host Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Guerschon Yabusele contributed 16 points, while Rob Dillingham added 11 off the bench for the Bulls, who saw a 12-point lead with six minutes remaining shrink to just one before holding on.

For Phoenix, Devin Booker scored 27 points, Grayson Allen added 21, and Jalen Green finished with 12. The Suns saw their two-game winning streak snapped, dropping seven of their last 11 games.

The Bulls had been struggling prior to this win, losing 12 of 13 games. Their 120-97 triumph over Milwaukee on March 1 ended an 11-game losing streak in February. Despite the loss, Phoenix had won 11 straight games in the series against Chicago.

Sexton’s 3-pointer gave the Bulls their largest lead at 97-85 with 6:14 left, but the Suns rallied. Allen and Amir Coffey (12 points) hit consecutive 3-pointers to bring Phoenix within 98-94 before Jones’ layup restored Chicago’s lead at 100-94. Green and Coffey scored again, but Yabusele’s third 3-pointer pushed the Bulls ahead 103-97. Coffey’s late 3-pointer and Booker's deep shot made it 104-103 with 22.9 seconds left.

The Bulls turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, and Green missed a driving layup with five seconds remaining. Nick Richards was fouled on the rebound, made one free throw, and missed the second, but Chicago secured the loose rebound as time expired.

Chicago attacked the paint effectively against a Suns defense missing center Mark Williams, who is expected to be sidelined two to three weeks with a stress reaction in his left foot. The Bulls finished with 68 points in the paint, including 38 in the first half.

Forward Leonard Miller had eight points and nine rebounds in his first start of the season for Chicago. The Bulls also played without leading scorers Josh Giddey (17.7 points per game) and Matas Buzelis (15.3) due to ankle injuries, with Buzelis missing his first game of the season.

Sexton shot 11 of 19 from the field for his third straight 20-point game, as Chicago shot 47.7 percent overall. The Suns finished with 39.1 percent from the field, with Booker, Green, Allen, and Collin Gillespie combining for 21 of 66.

—Field Level Media/Reuters