‘Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment.’ DeMar DeRozan joins rare air in Chicago Bulls history.
DeMar DeRozan entered rarefied air Monday as he matched a scoring performance that had only been recorded by one other player in Chicago Bulls history: Michael Jordan.
DeRozan tallied 41 points and 11 assists in a 133-129 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Before Monday’s game, Jordan was the only Bulls player to ever finish a game with more than 40 points and 10 assists.
The final stat line reflected DeRozan’s evolving role for the Bulls, who have relied on their veteran star to serve as a distributor more this season than in previous years. And DeRozan still delivered his necessary scoring production, knocking down the tying basket to send the game into overtime.
DeRozan’s new standing in Bulls history came as a surprise postgame. The 15-year league veteran is accustomed to setting and breaking records, but matching Jordan in Bulls history made a significant impression.
“Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment,” DeRozan said. “He’s one of a kind. I never take none of that stuff for granted.”
Jordan recorded this feat nine times in his career. The last time he tallied 40 or more points and 10 or more assists in a game was on Dec. 23, 1992, in a 107-98 win over the Washington Bullets. Jordan scored 57 points and added 10 assists in the second-half comeback.
That game was preceded by a piece of quintessential drama. Coach Phil Jackson wanted the Bulls to participate in a pregame shootaround. Jordan refused and an argument ensued. The star went on to drop nearly 60 points, drawing all the attention in what was also the 200th win of Jackson’s career as a coach.
But DeRozan’s historic performance still wasn’t enough to keep the Bulls from snapping their four-game win streak with a loss in Milwaukee.
Here are four other takeaways from the game.
1. Bulls’ 3-point shooting powers offense — but dries up in OT.
The Bulls scored 45 points off 3-point shooting in regulation to keep pace with the Bucks — and the bulk of that scoring came from Coby White.
White extended his franchise record-setting streak of games with three or more 3-pointers to 11 consecutive games, finishing 6-for-10 from behind the arc in another consistently explosive performance. But he didn’t take a 3-point shot between the 1:34 mark of the fourth quarter and the final four seconds of overtime.
The Bulls were 0-for-2 in overtime from behind the arc. The Bucks shook up their defensive approach, switching every screen in an attempt to shut off those shots and force the Bulls to attack in the paint. Even in the full court, the Bucks were more comfortable allowing the Bulls to go coast-to-coast for a 2-point play to eat up the clock than they were giving up 3-point chances.
This was a successful approach. White’s hot hand cooled off to go scoreless in overtime while the entire Bulls roster struggled to control the ball around the rim, scoring only 11 points off three made field goals.
2. Patrick Williams and Bulls defense struggle with enormous challenge of slowing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Attempting to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo is always a practice in futility. On Monday, Patrick Williams was once again tasked with the individual assignment of guarding Antetokounmpo, although coach Billy Donovan made it clear that it would take a team approach to handle the star.
The start was promising. Antetokounmpo took only shot — and made only one basket — in the first half. Williams drew an early charge when the Bucks big man attempted to bully his way to the rim down low. Through three quarters, Antetokounmpo had a quiet 12 points, six of which came from the penalty stripe.
But that changed, predictably, in the fourth quarter. With the Bulls attempting to complete a comeback, Antetokounmpo scored 15 points off 5-for-7 shooting and forced his way to the line six times. He scored 20 of his final 32 points between the fourth quarter and overtime.
“There was a couple of times where we got a little bit spread out and then there was some driving gaps for him,” Donovan said. “Patrick was trying to push his catches out because he was posting up on that elbow, trying to force him out a little bit further. There was a couple where I don’t even know if we could’ve gotten help there, he just ripped it so quickly and got into the paint.”
3. Dalen Terry takes on major fourth quarter shift in most meaningful minutes of the season.
After limited playing time as a rookie and throughout this year, Dalen Terry saw some of the most meaningful minutes of his young career in the fourth quarter Monday.
Terry started the quarter and stayed on for nearly five minutes as the Bulls cut down a five-point deficit to tie the game. While his only registered statistics during that period are a missed 3-pointer and a foul, Terry showed significant off-ball improvements with his screening and defensive work.
The second-year guard played 11 minutes in total — tallying an assist and a 3-pointer — as Donovan continues to give his younger players more runtime to accommodate for injury absences.
4. Alex Caruso misses fourth game with a new injury.
The Bulls started their fourth game of the season without Alex Caruso, who was unavailable after suffering a left ankle injury Friday against the San Antonio Spurs. Caruso has already been working through a sprained toe on his left foot which sidelined him for three prior games and has limited his availability.
Caruso was listed as questionable Monday and attempted to warm up before the medical team declared him out for the game. Donovan said he did not expect this to be a long-term injury and hoped that Caruso could return this week.
