Morant states MVP case as Memphis holds off Bulls
Some solid information was established Saturday at the United Center.
If DeMar DeRozan belongs in the top tier of the MVP race, then Memphis point guard Ja Morant might be one rung higher.
Maybe both are among the top four or five candidates, but in this game Morant was the superstar leading his team to a big victory. The former Murray State star piled up 46 points and Memphis held off a late Bulls comeback to win 116-110 at the United Center.
DeRozan's 35-50 streak never stood much of a chance after he missed his first 7 shots. But he ended up with 31 points on 10 of 28 shooting. Morant went 15-for-28 from the field.
"We didn't play the right way in the first and third quarter," Zach LaVine said. "Our attention to detail and energy was really good in the fourth when we were trying to get back into the game."
This one appeared to be a dominant victory for the Grizzlies, who led by 17 with just under 10 minutes left. But then the Bulls went on a 14-0 run, got as close as 1 point and had several chances to tie or take the lead.
The last gasp saw DeRozan try to split two defenders in the lane, end up on the floor and then get ejected with 5.3 seconds left for getting his second technical foul. That particular play appeared to be solid defense by Memphis' Kyle Anderson, but the Bulls were complaining about a lack of calls from the opening minute.
"He's human and he's going to have nights where he doesn't shoot the ball," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of DeRozan. "I thought early in the game, he got fouled quite a bit and he should have been to the free-throw line. I have not watched the film, that's just going from my eyes watching the game.
"Who knows what the game's like for him if he gets 4 quick free throws or some of those plays are called differently. That's going to happen. The officials aren't perfect, the players aren't perfect and neither are the coaches."
DeRozan missed a jumper that could have tied the score with just over four minutes left, but came back with a 3-pointer. Coby White's corner 3-pointer closed the gap to 106-105 with 2:30 left. Then twice while trailing by 1, the Bulls forced a missed shot and couldn't corral the defensive rebound. Memphis scored both times and were able to close it out.
The Bulls had their hands full with muscular Grizzlies center Steven Adams, who finished with 21 rebounds and 12 points, and created many of Morant's scoring opportunities with some physical screens.
"Steven Adams demands so much attention on that side of the ball. I think we were all crashing down on him and the ball was going over our heads," White said of the Bulls' late-game rebounding failures.
Memphis ended up scoring on both second-chance opportunities. On the second, Desmond Bane knocked down his only 3-pointer of the game after starting 0 of 6. That shot put the Grizzlies ahead 111-107 with 1:20 left.
Nikola Vucevic went to the line and hit 1 of 2 free throws. Then after the Bulls finally did get a stop and rebound, LaVine (28 points) went to the line, but his free throws kept it a 1-point game with 25.5 seconds left. A pair of free throws by Memphis' Tyus Jones gave the Bulls one last chance trailing by 3.
The Grizzlies (42-20) own the NBA's third-best record, but had lost two in a row, including Thursday in Minnesota. The Bulls (39-22) ended a six-game win streak.
White (15 points) played 35 minutes, while rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu had a rare off night and went scoreless.
"I felt like they were really coming after DeMar and Zach when they had the ball and I thought spray outs may be open," Donovan said. "I just kind of went with Coby because of the shooting piece of it. I don't necessarily think it was one of Ayo's best games, personally, but he's been so great for us."
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