The Bulls these days, and with yet another thrilling ending Tuesday in their 119-117 victory over the Utah Jazz, are becoming like sitting in the movie theater and getting emotional, thrilled, shocked and relieved. Like a little bit of Rocky, The Shawshank Redemption, Get Out, the original Planet of the Apes, Toy Story, When Harry Met Sally..., It’s a Wonderful Life and Casablanca.
Who knows. Maybe this could be the beginning of a beautiful finish.
“We’ve always got to make it interesting,” DeMar DeRozan offered with a smirk in his walk off interview with NBCSports Chicago. “We stuck with it; it got a little chippy at the end. But we stayed on course and pulled it out.
"That’s (fourth quarter) the best part of the game,” said DeRozan, who again like in Sacramento Tuesday carries the Bulls across the finish line with 17 fourth-quarter points including the winning free throws with 9.3 seconds left after 19 against the Kings. “That’s where you turn it up and have got to pull out the win. Whoever wants it the most you see it in the fourth. I told you (in Sacramento) we’re like a Dateline (show). Just another episode tonight.”
And one that again had you edging forward in your seat, your heart beating and your breath slowing as you tried to take it all in.
Because after losing a double digit fourth quarter lead and seeing the Jazz without their front court starters take a 114-112 lead on a Collin Sexton three with 1:59 left in regulation, the Bulls riding five consecutive DeRozan points with a driving three-point play in there seemed about to let out a breath with about 50 seconds left and leading by three when Alex Caruso stole a cross court pass and passed to Ayo Dosunmu on a two-on-one break.
But Dosunmu missed the layup. And then a three after a Sexton miss. So, nevertheless, the Bulls still were in control — or seemed to be leading 117-114 with 10.6 seconds left when Caruso curiously took a foul.
It’s not unusual to foul with a three-point lead so the opponent has two free throws or maybe has to purposely miss to hope for a rebound. Which is usually later in the clock. Most teams when they intentionally foul do so with under five seconds left. It almost proved fatal for the Bulls when Sexton made both free throws and in being able to extend the game the Jazz fouled DeRozan intentionally with 9.3 seconds left and the Bulls leading 117-116.
That’s when the game turned into 2024 A Basketball Odyssey.
This time of year in the NBA there’s a lot of absences with the start of draft tanking, beginning to rest for the playoffs, the usual injuries that had the Bulls without Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig, and the Jazz without Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Sexton and Jordan Clarkson converged to foul DeRozan right in front of the Bulls bench and to make it obvious with a little mustard. Craig, on the bench in leather jacket and baseball cap, isn’t the yellow type. He appeared to object and say something to Sexton.
There’s some dispute, but it seemed Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming pushed Jazz forward John Collins, or attempted to separate players. Collins told Jazz media after the game he was assaulted by Fleming.
“(Sexton) and T-Craig got into it, they were talking,” said Collins. “I’m standing there and coach comes over and just shoves me for no reason; just protected myself. Dude puts his forearm in my chest and is pushing me back. He needs more self control. I don’t know what else to say about that; it was weird…I never had a coach touch me like that. That was a first.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan, playing peacemaker as he does, said he had to go to the videotape. Though he didn’t seem too pleased as the officials decided Fleming and Collins deserved technical fouls that offset. But Craig was assessed one for instigating the events, the officials decided. That made it two Bulls not in the game getting technical fouls. And worse, the Jazz able to tie the game at 117 on the Craig technical.
Meanwhile, DeRozan planning to put the Bulls ahead was waiting out the 10 minutes or so of discussions and contretemps.
“It appeared to me I saw DeMar get fouled and I don't know if he (Sexton) was grabbing his face or holding his face," Donovan said. “I think Torrey said something, came over. I think Chris Fleming was trying to hold everybody off to kind of separate. And then from there, it just kind of escalated and at that point I kind of stepped in to try to break it up a little bit.
"I don't look at it from a Utah situation at all,” Donovan explained. “I look at it from an our situation. We’ve got to be better in those moments, in my opinion. Not only did we lose a point on a technical foul, we also iced our free throw shooter. I give DeMar a lot of credit for being mentally tough enough. I understand the emotion and the intensity of games. But at the same point, too, whether it's complaining or frustrated, it's not helping anything. We got to be able to do a better job of that all the way around. I’m not saying the players on the bench, everybody. We’ve got to be better in those moments.”
It’s DeRozan. DeMar DeRozan.
Call this feature, Dr. Yes.
DeRozan calmly sank both free throws.
And then like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, the Bulls survived open threes by first Clarkson with 7.9 seconds left, and then when Coby White landed out of bounds with the rebound, the Jazz got an inbounds pass to Sexton. He was so alone when Caruso on defense got tangled up with Collins (15 yards for tripping?) that Sexton actually had a chance to dribble before setting up again for his game-winner.
It hung in the air, like Thelma and Louise speeding away, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid coming out firing….
The Bulls had a happier ending.
And also another one to stack on that list of league-leading wins in the so-called clutch last five minutes of the game.
“We certainly made it that way,” Donovan offered with a dry smile.
Which is also the fallacy of that statistic given it is impressive to compete and contend despite deficits the way this Bulls team does. But also alarming the way they let big leads dissipate in the closing moments. Which also is a part of the new NBA with the massive swings in scoring and leads gained and lost because of the three-point shot.
The Bulls made an impressive 17 of them in this game with seven more from Coby White in his 25 points. DeRozan led the Bulls with 29 points and Nikola Vučević chipped in with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Caruso had four more steals and three blocks in continuing to produce league elite defensive numbers in being just a bit more aware than everyone else. But the Bulls were out hustled in this game as the Jazz even playing without their seven-footers led in rebounding and had 14 offensive rebounds for 22 second-chance points. But this time it was the Bulls, their record going to 30-32, who made the most threes and had 29 assists with Dosunmu leading with nine.
“We’ve had two games in a row we were able to overcome (rebounding deficits); but you are not going to overcome it against the teams playing after April 14,” said Donovan about at least for a play-in a likely Bulls post season. “So to me we’ve had these opportunities to hopefully drive home the message. What’s not sustainable is giving up the rebounds we’ve been giving up. We did some good things, Alex, Ayo (defensively), but we can get better.”
Though it’s been a heck of a good start on this four-game Western Conference road trip with the Bulls moving to Golden State Thursday and the Clippers Saturday before returning to host Dallas Monday. Craig should be out of his leather jacket by then, which will help with the playing time adding up especially for White and DeRozan.
But if the Bulls can continue to finish like they have this week, they also can pull off some surprises with the 76ers without Joel Embiid now falling to seventh just ahead of eighth place Indiana. The Bulls trail the Pacers by four and a half games and are two games ahead of 10th place Atlanta. The Nets in 11th and probably out of the play-in five games behind the Bulls with 20 games remaining.
Yes, I’m telling you there is a chance.
Especially the way White is cooking again, 11 points and 3-of-3 on triples in the first quarter as the Bulls got a hold of this game early with a 33-29 first quarter lead and 63-54 at halftime. White had 17 first-half points, and DeRozan as he’s done lately mostly surveyed and studied during the first half. He had eight points.
“I thought he generated a lot of good looks for our guys throughout the game,” said Donovan.
The Bulls stumbled out of the gate after halftime missing their first four shots with a turnover before a pair of DeRozan free throws ended the drought. But Coby got going again from deep, and Caruso added a pair of threes as the Bulls went up a dozen and then were leading 93-83 to start the fourth quarter.
Though in this NBA, a 10-point lead doesn’t mean what it once did.
Talk about your current NBA, the Jazz demonstrated it late in that third quarter when DeRozan drove and was hit accidentally by Andre Drummond. DeRozan stayed down and Drummond stopped to check on him, the Jazz racing out on a five-on-two break…and pulling up for a three.
Kids, I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today.
And then came the fourth, and old pal Kris Dunn starting with the injuries made a three and a driving score and the undermanned Hickory Huskers of Salt Lake City looked ready to pull off the surprise.
Until they all needed to chill. But it was the Jazz who turned cold while it was once again DeMar with the ice in his veins. Yes, he’s a natural.
Got a question for Sam?
Submit your question to Sam at asksam@bulls.com
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.