Back home again, Jazz deliver an emphatic 110-80 win over the Bulls

The Utah Jazz are thankful, at least this holiday, for the NBA schedule-makers.

Coming off a 1-3 road trip, the team needed a win. The Chicago Bulls, the worst team in the NBA, helped provide it.

With Derrick Favors breaking out for 23 points, the Jazz cruised to a 110-80 win over Chicago, the biggest margin of victory for the Jazz at home this year.

It was a feel-good night at Vivint Smart Home Arena — a rare event lately — as rookie Donovan Mitchell squirted Favors with a water bottle after the win, and streamers again drifted down into the crowd. Opponent record aside, Utah was encouraged by its second blowout win in the past three games — neither of which have come with center Rudy Gobert.

“There’s still a lot of stuff we need to work on,” Favors said. “I think we’re starting to figure it out a little bit.”

It definitely wasn’t a good effort by Chicago, which shot 24 percent from 3-point range and defended with the moxie of a turnstile. But the Jazz (8-11) had something to do with it, too, spilling the Bulls into 16 turnovers and holding leading scorer and prized rookie Lauri Markkenen to three points.

In one particularly engaging sequence in the third quarter, journeyman-turned-starter Jonas Jerebko successfully defended a 2-on-1 Bulls fast break by blocking Kris Dunn, then blocking the putback attempt by Markkanen.

The Jazz defense had a way of shutting the door on the Bulls in that fashion. In the fourth quarter, Chicago managed 11 points in a limp finish of its road back-to-back.

Favors’ outstanding play has become a common thread in Utah’s wins without Gobert. When he scores 23 or more, the Jazz are 3-0. When he scores 15 or less, the Jazz are 0-4.

On Wednesday night, he led the way not only with his finishing skills at the rim (8 of 11), but also getting to the line (7-for-8). His aggression in the pick and roll hasn’t always been consistent in the past few weeks, but he was able to find some room to operate against a team that has struggled to defend without fouling.

Coach Quin Snyder chalked it up to the Jazz’s overall team connectivity (23 assists), and how the Bulls played the Jazz pick-and-roll. But where Favors missed some easy looks against Philadelphia on Monday, against Chicago he cashed in.

“When that happens, Favs has an opportunity to make some plays in the pocket that he’s capable of making,” he said. “He’s gotta knock them down, and by and large, he has been.”

In the backcourt, Mitchell found himself having to change shoes midgame from green to yellow after a sneaker malfunction. But the greater shift he faced was from scorer to distributor as he had his lowest-scoring game (four points) since Oct. 25.

Even as he struggled, Mitchell still wowed: In a second-quarter play following a timeout, Mitchell slammed down an alley-oop from Raul Neto, making a somewhat subdued crowd take notice of the game. But on the following play, he missed another dunk opportunity — and would go on to miss four more shots before halftime.

But before the game, Snyder complimented his rookie’s improving decision-making on offense, and Mitchell helped vindicate his coach’s words. Switching from to willing passer in the second half, he tallied seven assists.

“When the shot is not falling, do something else — still contribute in different ways,” Mitchell said. “I looked at the film from last game, and there were still times in the fourth quarter where I took shots that weren’t in the flow of the offense. … Now, I made it a point to [pass] first, and let the offense come to me.”

Rodney Hood also had his 11th straight game in double figures, finishing with 19 points.

By midway through the fourth quarter, the Jazz began to empty the bench. Vivint itself started to empty, with fans headed up the aisles to get an early start on Thanksgiving.

Happy holidays, indeed.