Bulls trio keep humming as DeRozan buries another game-winner in New York
The Bulls have proved their three stars can thrive together, even with the regular point guard sidelined for the past 11 months.
For the first time in franchise history, a group of three players all scored at least 20 points for four straight games. And thanks to some familiar DeMar DeRozan drama, the Bulls stretched their unlikely winning streak to three in a row.
DeRozan buried an 18-foot jumper over Quentin Grimes with 0.4 second left to give the Bulls a thrilling 118-117 win Friday over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. It's also their second buzzer-beating win in three days, after Ayo Dosunmu's putback won Wednesday in Atlanta.
"When he gets to his spot, you always feel pretty good about him rising up and shooting the ball," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of DeRozan. "I think in those moments, things kind of calm for him and he slows his mind and thinks about what's going to happen."
The Bulls trailed by 3 points after R.J. Barrett (44 points) hit a tough runner in the lane with 29.4 seconds left. Patrick Williams missed a potential tying 3, but the Bulls secured the offensive rebound and Zach LaVine hit a driving lay in with 7.6 seconds left to make it 117-116.
The Bulls got some life when Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who couldn't miss during two games in Chicago last week, went 0-for-2 at the foul line.
Trailing by one, the Bulls inbounded to DeRozan, LaVine set a screen on Barrett to force the defensive switch, and DeRozan just did what he's been known for since joining the Bulls, hitting a smooth pullup jumper in a clutch spot. Grimes was called for a foul and DeRozan intentionally missed the free throw to run out the clock.
LaVine led the Bulls with 33 points, DeRozan finished with 25 points and 10 assists, while Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
One other Bulls group scored 20 points three games in a row - the unlikely trio of Michael Jordan, Quintin Dailey and Orlando Woolridge early in Jordan's rookie year of 1984-85.
The Bulls were playing from behind for most of the fourth quarter but finally tied it with 2:03 left on a pair of LaVine free throws. Power forward Julius Randle (29 points, 12 rebounds) came back with a 3-point play to put the Knicks back in control.
This week has been an unlikely story for the Bulls. They gave up 150 points in regulation for the first time in 40 years on Sunday at Minnesota. The next day, reports surfaced of a loud locker room argument at halftime of that game, which Donovan confirmed.
The Bulls came back Tuesday with a solid performance against a short-handed Miami team. A day later, Dosunmu gave the Bulls a second victory.
"I respected the way our guys competed tonight," Donovan said. "I think that's just the price of admission. We've got to do that to put ourselves in a position to win.
"Even if we do that, it doesn't mean we're going to win every game, but you can walk off the court feeling like we competed, we battled. Here's some things we can do better, instead of talking about how much harder we've got to compete, how much more connected we need to be, how much more accountable we need to be to each other."
The Bulls (14-18) have four home games this week, beginning Monday against Houston.
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