The Bulls’ lead was 17 points, and there was less than eight minutes left.
But guard Alex Caruso wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
As his teammates sat down on the bench after a timeout, Caruso started pointing at his temple and telling each of them to focus. It was a case of a veteran understanding that there can be no more letdowns in the early stages of this season. Urgency at its finest.
Message heard.
Thanks to a rare outstanding shooting night from three-point range (18-for-34) and spurts of solid defense, the Bulls (3-5) watched an ugly three-game losing streak come to an end with a 130-113 victory Monday against the Jazz at the United Center.
‘‘A lot of it coming out of the Denver [loss Saturday] was just our spirit,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘There’s things we have control over. There’s still ways to impact the game. The intention that we played with [against the Jazz] was very good, and they maintained it.
‘‘We’ve got to keep building consistency and resiliency through the struggles. We’ve got to keep that energy into the game. It’s not a situation where we’re helpless. That was the talk coming out of huddles, and they were dialed in to that.’’
That was the case right from the start, with DeMar DeRozan making a three-pointer 90 seconds into the game.
It was obviously contagious for the Bulls, who let it rip to the tune of 6-for-9 from long range in the first quarter on their way opening a 37-32 lead.
After the offense flexed its muscles in the first quarter, it was time for some good old-fashioned defense in the second. The Bulls held the Jazz to 20 points in the quarter and took a comfortable 14-point lead into halftime.
It was complementary basketball at its finest. More important, there was no letting up in the second half.
Thanks to two more three-pointers by Zach LaVine, the Bulls went 4-for-4 from long range in the third, putting another 30-point quarter on the struggling Jazz. LaVine finished with a team-high 24 points.
‘‘We definitely put a good 48 minutes together,’’ center Nikola Vucevic said. ‘‘We knew coming out of that Denver game, especially the second half, we needed to come out and play much better. This was a good response. Hopefully we learn from it and realize playing like this is our best chance.
‘‘I’m not a believer in just one game changes everything, but it can be a good steppingstone for us to understand. Now it has to be game after game after game.’’
As bad as the Jazz were, no one could point a finger in the direction of former Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen. He continued being everything the Bulls were hoping he could have been for them before he was traded, putting up 29 points, grabbing five rebounds and making five three-pointers.
It was a reminder of the flashes he showed in his four seasons with the Bulls before he was dealt to the Cavaliers in 2021.
‘‘I don’t know all the dynamics prior to getting here and then him feeling like he needed a change, but sometimes guys evolve when they go,’’ Donovan said of the one season he had Markkanen before the deal was made. ‘‘Sometimes players go through experiences, and they develop at their own pace.
‘‘I think it’s hard sometimes for these guys when they’re lottery picks and they’re billed as being the franchise going forward. That’s a lot to put on a young guy’s back. Sometimes it takes them a period of failure to really evaluate how they can get better and how they can improve.’’
