Vucevic leads the Bulls to an nail-biting win over the Jazz in the NBA and the Knicks lose Brunson to injury

The Chicago Bulls cruised to a 128-126 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, led by a dominant performance from Nikola Vucevic, who scored 35 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks at the United Center in Chicago. The night also saw Jalen Brunson go down with an injury in the Knicks’ loss to Sacramento.

A layup basket by Nikola Vucevic with four seconds on the clock after an early assist by Tre Jones made the difference between Bulls and Jazz in a game of high emotions. "It was a crazy play," Vucevic told AFP. "Tre gave me a great pass and then it was a shot I couldn't miss."

"It wasn't the best game but we pulled it off, they played well, we won this game and that's something that's not easy in the NBA." After the timeout, Keyonte George had one last chance for the Jazz but his shot from the three point line came up short.

George scored eight points in 58 seconds in the comeback attempt by a Utah that had Brice Sensabaugh as its leading scorer with 43 points.

Vucevic, 35, scored 16 of his 35 points in the final period, setting his personal best of the season.

Mitchell scores 35 points; Garland injured

A bittersweet taste was left by the Cleveland Cavaliers' 133-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia). Mitchell, a serious candidate for the All-Star Game, had another stellar night shooting for 50% (11/22) with a final tally of 35 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

"It's a great win," commented Mitchell." Evan Mobley was spectacular, Darius Garland was phenomenal, now we have to do it again on Friday." Garland, however, was ruled out of the game in the third quarter with damage to his right foot.

The Cavs looked extensively dominant and led by as many as 30 points down the stretch. For the Sixers, Joel Embiid was the top scorer with 20 points.

Raptors, among the top four in the East

The Toronto Raptors won 115-101 over the Indiana Pacers and remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, five games behind the leaders, Detroit Pistons. Point guard Brandon Ingram was the star of the game scoring 30 points, including two key three-pointers down the stretch as the Pacers closed the gap to four points.

"We never lost confidence," Ingram said. "We decided to keep fighting and we found our teammates in the right positions." "I think we all did our jobs tonight and I'm very happy with this win."

Ingram, 28, adds his fifth game of the season with at least 30 points. Cameroon's Pascal Siakam was Indiana's leading scorer with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Canadiens reach 25 wins for the season while the reigning NBA runners-up remain in last place in the East with nine wins and 32 losses, including a 7-16 record at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis), which today had an attendance of 15,789.

Knicks fall to Sacramento, lose Brunson

The Sacramento Kings defeated the New York Knicks 112-101, but lost their top star, Jalen Brunson, to a sprained ankle in the first half. Brunson suffered the non-contact injury and walked to the locker room unassisted.

Sacramento had one of its best nights of the season shooting for 48% from the field (34/71) with DeMar DeRozan leading all scorers with 25 points. "Team effort is something we've seen these days," forward Zach LaVine mentioned. "We're attacking the right way and we're playing defense as a team."

For the first time this season, the Kings have won three games in a row. Despite the loss, the Knicks remain in second place in the Eastern Conferencewith 25 wins and 15 losses.

Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns had a well below-average night with 13 points and four rebounds.