We know the outcome of a basketball game isn’t determined by one play, except for the occasional deciding so called buzzer beater. But one play Tuesday in the Bulls 128-117 loss to the New York Knicks perhaps served as a metaphor for this hopeful if too often disappointing season in which the Bulls record dropped to 37-42.
The Bulls fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and were trailing 36-27 to start the second quarter when Andre Drummond poked the ball away from a dribbling Bojan Bogdanović, setting up a three-on-zero Bulls breakout, aggressive defensive play and forcing their way back into the game once again creating opportunity, which has been a practice for this Bulls team. Torrey Craig with the ball had the enthusiastic United Center crowd expectant as he dribbled in for the score. Coby White was off to his right and Drummond was trailing at full speed. Craig slowed up, tossing the ball high off the backboard above the rim like one of those 200 or so plays in most NBA All-Star games.
“I just wanted to create some excitement, try to give us the edge,” Craig explained later. “Create some momentum for us.”
It looked at first like a pass for a Drummond rim rattler and backboard shaker, which is probably why Drummond ouch this foot down. But as it turned out Craig was lining up for the solo slam.
“I don’t care really who he was throwing the ball to,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan fumed afterward. “We don’t need to be doing that.”
Mostly, as it turned out, because Drummond did believe the opportunity was for him. So as Craig tried to grab his pass to himself, Drummond’s motor was hitting a straightway and once his semi-trailer form gets going it’s a long runway to stop. So Drummond crashed into Craig and the ball skittered off the rim and to the Knicks. White stood to the right staring.
“We did some really dumb stuff tonight,” White agreed.
Then beyond the embarrassment that broadcaster Stacey King likened to a prime Shaqtin' a Fool candidate — probably soon to be on a loop — for the TNT Inside the NBA show, Drummond came down awkwardly on the ensuing Knicks possession and severely sprained his ankle, needing wheelchair assistance to leave the court.
In just one three-possession sequence it was the Bulls at their best, their worst and injured yet again. They refused to give up on this game, any game. Players like Craig and White continued through injuries and despite trailing the Knicks by 10 games in the standings were seeking a second consecutive win over New York and the fabulous Jalen Brunson. The Bulls were opportunistic, relentless, and yet ultimately unsuccessful, dazed and confused despite still likely holding onto No. 9 in the Eastern Conference for a home play-in tournament game April 17 against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Bulls were led by DeMar DeRozan with 34 points and had three players scoring at least 24 points, shot 53% overall, won on the boards against the Knicks again and had a 15-7 margin in second-chance points as Javonte had five offensive rebounds. The Bulls were disruptive and daring, but also perhaps too emotional, too anxious and too error prone. And, of course, too lacking in threes, the Knicks with a deciding 17-10 edge in conversions.
“There was a lot of self-induced things I felt we contributed to (the loss),” said Donovan, who immediately called time after the botched fast break to lecture Craig. “Not only that play, but other plays that maybe weren’t as loud as that, but that play was disappointing to me. I was disappointed being down eight or 10 and we get a good defensive stand and a chance to finish the play. I don’t know what the reason was for it; a couple of players said to me in the timeout we need to move on and they were right. We don’t need to be doing that. It’s not what I’m about; it’s not what we should be about.”
It’s unfortunate because Craig, if injured often this season, has been a supportive team player and mentor and afterwards up front with media about his mistake.
But as Donovan often says — and it’s getting even more critical with now Drummond perhaps out for awhile joining Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, Lonzo Ball, Julian Phillips and Ayo Dosunmu, who missed Tuesday’s game with a quad contusion — this Bulls team doesn’t have much margin for error, especially with its three-point shooting deficit.
So every point matters for a team whose point differential remains negative for the season.
Craig’s intentions were not that misguided given the Bulls could have used an emotional fan boost after trailing quickly when the Knicks made 6-of-7 threes in the first quarter.
You just don’t want to go from an added punch to punch line.
“I feel like a lot of it was self-induced,” said White. “Everybody, not just T-Craig; we’re not going to sit here and single him out. We’re a team. Hats off to them. They are a really good team and play to their identity, and Brunson is a (bad, bad man). But a lot was self-induced and we all know that, the little stuff, the details. It’s too late to be having those lapses. We’ve got to get our (stuff) together for sure.”
It was unfortunate this night because the Bulls played good enough to win against most teams, though Stevenson High School’s Brunson was magnificent with 45 points, 7-of-12 threes and eight assists with one turnover. But also because White looked like December Coby for the first time since returning from his hip injury March 21.
White had 24 points and six assists, shooting at least 50% for just the second time in the last 10 games. He also showed off that driving and footwork skill that’s been stuck in mud lately. And White in the process set the franchise three-point record with 205 made this season in a dizzying sequence to end the first half when after a Nikola Vučević three to get the Bulls within 65-59 with 6.3 seconds left in the half, White stole the inbounds pass and also made a three with 1.6 seconds left to cut the Bulls halftime deficit to three.
Until Donte DiVincenzo banked in a half court three as the half ended.
It was actually that kind of game with the Bulls repeatedly countering Knicks runs, if also emblematic in not quite being able to get across the finish line first.
Following that wackiest of quarters that began with Torrey’s terrible and ended with nine points combined in six seconds, the Knicks kick started the third quarter with a 13-2 run, some threes, some of the many driving dunks the Knicks had and suddenly the Bulls were trailing 81-64.
Sensing the urgency, DeRozan began getting to his spots and pump faked his way to 15 third-quarter points and the Bulls back within 91-86 on a DeRozan run out with three minutes left in the third quarter. Craig had stayed in, but taking the defensive baton from Alex Caruso and Green to try to frustrate Brunson, Craig talked himself into a technical foul that gave the Knicks a three-point-play with a foul. But still just 101-95 New York after three quarters.
“I’m not going to sit there and hold a grudge against him (Craig); we need him, we’re down bodies now,” Donovan pointed out. “He’s a veteran guy, he knows personnel in the league. He didn’t…play in the fourth quarter. He’s got to be better. It was a really, really loud play, but I’m not going to sit here and say we lost the game because of that play.”
It wasn’t a good night for last summer’s free agency as Jevon Carter, after not playing in four of the last five games, came in during the first quarter and in a three-minute stretch attempted five three-point shots and missed four. The Knicks lead went into double digits. He didn’t play after that.
And still the Bulls were right there, trailing 107-101 when it became a Caruso moment when in consecutive Knicks possessions he surprised Josh Hart for a steal and stripped OG Anunoby going for a shot. But in each subsequent Bulls possession, there were turnovers. Still, Vučević in his best game in more than a week with 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting glided by Isaiah Hartenstein for a score to get the Bulls within 107-103 with about eight minutes left.
Anunoby then got loose for another driving dunk, and after Caruso spun out a three, Brunson, the 2018 second round draft pick, made the first of his two tough ones in the next minute and the Knicks were ahead 117-104 and the Bulls just don’t have enough firepower to match that.
As an aside, Brunson wow!
“He’s just really good at what he does,” credited White. “He’s crafty around the rim, knows how to get to his spots, hits contested threes off the dribble and the catch, which is impressive because a lot of guys his stature who always have the ball, for him to relocate shows his high IQ for the game. He gets himself easy opportunities, does a little bit of everything. He’s the engine for that team. They run a lot of stuff for him, but he does a really good job of getting those guys easy looks for threes and involved because he commands so much attention. He’s one of the best guards in the league this year, has been doing it all, especially down the stretch even with them dealing with so many injuries.”
And the Bulls have to hope Drummond’s injury isn’t as severe as it looked.
Despite the loss, the Bulls remain in favorable position to host the 9/10 play-in game April 17 because Atlanta lost to Miami in double overtime. The Bulls are one game ahead of Atlanta, but have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 2-1 season record. So Atlanta needs to finish a game ahead of the Bulls to move to No. 9. The Bulls magic number to clinch No. 9 is two total of wins or Atlanta losses. The Bulls are in Detroit Thursday and Washington Friday before closing the regular season in New York Sunday.
And still with Billy Donovan.
The pregame discussion was all about the speculation and rumor of the U. of Kentucky coaching job and Donovan, who once was an assistant coach there, supposedly among the candidates. Donovan indicated he’s not interested.
“I have not been contacted by anybody,” Donovan said. “My total commitment and focus is here to this team and to this group. I think with what we’ve been through this year and the way we started (5-14), I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and battling through some of the things we had to battle through, and I’m with them on that..A lot of this stuff sometimes turns out to be speculation. I’m happy here at this level. It is flattering to be mentioned with a school and a tradition like that in this game. My focus has been on our team and trying to help these guys get better and trying to close out these last games to the best of our ability, try to find a way to get a home game for the play-in, see if we can find our way into the playoffs.”
Which also isn’t a slam dunk for now.
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