DeMar DeRozan has rejuvenated the slumping Chicago Bulls leading them to their third straight victory in an important game vs the Clippers. The Bulls needed 27 points from DeRozan in the fourth quarter and OT as Chicago beat the Clippers 135-130. Chicago came from a 16-point deficit in the second half to secure the win.
It was his best scoring performance of the season and his first 50-point game since a January 2018 matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, when he scored a career-high 52 points as a member of the Toronto Raptors.
DeRozan finished 17 of 26 from the field, 2 of 2 from three and 14 of 15 from the free throw line, with six assists and five rebounds. Chicago is just 7-11 since the All-Star break, but has won three of the past four games to keep itself in the top-six of the Eastern Conference.
“DeMar is unbelievable. After the game he said ‘sorry for missing the free throw,’” Bulls coach Billy Donovan told reporters. “We wouldn’t have been in OT if it wasn’t for the things he did.”
The five-time All-Star entered Thursday’s game averaging 27.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from deep. He had been averaging 25.8 points per game through March.
The Bulls are currently No. 5 in the conference, a 0.5 game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 6 seed and three games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers to avoid the play-in tournament. The Bulls’ next three games—Miami, Milwaukee and Boston — are against teams ahead of them in the conference.
Before joining the Bulls, DeRozan spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Raptors and then played from 2018 to ’21 with the San Antonio Spurs. He made the playoffs in six of those seasons but never won a title. DeRozan has been in the MVP conversation for much of the 2021-22 campaign.
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