Sam Smith recap

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Sam Smith

Now you know. That’s what White hot looks like on the basketball court.

And it was pretty inevitable that the Atlanta Hawks were just about waving the white flag from moments into a Bulls end to end, wire to wire, on-to-Miami-again 131-116 victory led by Coby White’s career-most 42 points in Wednesday’s Eastern Conference NBA play-in tournament game. The Bulls now travel to Miami for a rematch of last year’s play-in game to qualify for the NBA playoffs. With the Bulls perhaps as a surprising favorite because Heat star Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury in Miami’s Wednesday play-in loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The winner of Friday’s 6 p.m (CT) game meets the top-seeded Boston Celtics noon Sunday to open their Eastern Conference playoffs. Which means for the Bulls there’s still work to do. But their white whale, obsessive holy grail pursuit of the playoffs in the wake of this disappointing regular season is starting to show relentlessly impressive movement through this ocean of basketball predators.

This night because the Bulls had a great White, the theatrical point guard who danced around and through Atlanta defenses with whiplash crossover dribbles, numbing drives, calculated pullups and galvanizing three pointers that inevitably unleashed a white noise chorus of “Coby, Coby, Coby,” from more than 22,000 towel-waving and exuberant United Center fans.

No white knuckles this night as White applied the knockout punches.

“I didn’t come into the game saying I was going to put the team (on my back) or whatever,” the predictably humble White said afterward. “I just wanted to be aggressive and take what the defense gave me and just try to lead. Coming into the game, I just wanted to impact winning on both sides of the ball and that’s what I focused on, and tonight I was aggressive and things went my way.

“It was a dope feeling, a dope moment for that to happen,” White added about the honorifics washing down on him. “I’m thankful for it, I’m thankful for the fans. It felt like the playoffs; the place was rocking tonight and I’m definitely counting it as my career-high. It’s on the stat sheet right here.”

White’s declaration was because the play-in tournament comes between the regular season and playoffs, and obviously for a select group of teams. So statistics don’t count for the regular season. They do count in a separate NBA play-in category like playoff statistics. But no one will sweat the technicalities of this because of the significance of the moment, and the time being necessary for a Bulls White knight.

“He did all right; he can do a little bit better,” DeMar DeRozan cracked deadpan sitting beside White at the formal NBA postgame interview podium when asked to comment on White’s game.

“He led us tonight,” agreed DeRozan, who kick started the rout with 11 first quarter points in the stunning 40-22 Bulls first quarter slaughter. “We talked before the game coming out being aggressive, trying to make a statement early and not wait (like often this season), and that’s what we did. Everything is on the table. We went through a lot this season with injuries, up and down season, a season none of us expected. Everything we went through this season for this moment here. (So) we have to carry that over to the next game as well, give ourselves a chance to be in the playoffs.

“I remember that plane ride home vividly,” DeRozan said about the late game meltdown play-in loss in Miami last year. “Everyone was frustrated; that feeling sucked. I know for me that was one thing on my mind when I realized we’re going back to Miami, not to have that feeling.”

It certainly will help the Bulls if Butler cannot play; preliminary media reports were he could have a sprained MCL, which could put him out until next season. For their part, the Bulls lost Alex Caruso in another bizarre play involving Andre Drummond. Drummond was sort of victimized in that reckless Torrey Craig lob-to-himself dunk last week. This time in the second quarter with the Hawks on a 14-0 run, Drummond getting back on defense with all his 290 pounds pancaked Caruso like a pulling guard. Caruso had to leave the game with a sprained ankle and could only briefly return. He said afterwards he hopes to play in Miami, which is vital for the Bulls the way Caruso helped set an early defensive tone pestering Young into five first quarter turnovers and 0-for-3 shooting.

“Caught me (stepping on my) right foot and the left one I tried to catch and tweaked my ankle a little,” said Caruso. "What I’ve been dealing with the last couple of weeks. My mindset is to play until my body tells me I can’t. Was kind of ineffective (afterward when I returned), so better those guys finish the game and they did a good job.”

Especially White with Nikola Vučević going for 24 points and 12 rebounds, DeRozan adding 22 points and Ayo Dosunmu 19. Javonte Green off the bench helping on Young with Caruso hurt added 10 points with some nasty slam dunks.

“We’ve got guys on the team when the lights come on and they are bright they step up to the challenge,” said Caruso. “I’ve had moments like that in my career; DeMar countess numbers. Vooch has played playoff basketball, Ayo in the short time he’s stepped up and helped us. I think that’s one of great strengths that we do have guys who can go off any given night. Coby’s put in the work. There’s talk of Most Improved and I think he rightfully deserves that. It’s not surprising for us because we know how good he can be and that’s how confident we want him to play all the time.”

And so all across the board the Bulls controlled this game, matching Atlanta’s 11 threes, which was the one potential Achilles heel for the Bulls. Then with Atlanta missing two of their best defenders and rebounders in Onyeka Okongwua and Saddiq Bey, the Bulls owned the boards 47-34, shot a staggering 56.8% overall with 42% on threes (the Hawks were 29.7%) and the Bulls had a dam burst of 72 inside points with mostly White, but also Dosunmu and Vučević, the latter with his spins and drop steps, crashing the Hawks in the paint.

“It was really important for us against them because we did not get (to the rim) as much (in the April 1 loss in the United Center), and we knew they were probably going to get the volume of three-point shots up that they do with (Bogdan) Bogdanović, (Dejounte) Murray and Trae Young and even (De’Andre) Hunter,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “So for us we needed to get downhill and attack the paint, and I think we did a better job of that and certainly Coby was a catalyst and Ayo getting downhill, as well.”

It was a thing of beauty, at least for the Bulls, from the jump with a 16-2 close to the first quarter and that suddenly massive 18-point lead, the arena rocking. The Bulls were shooting 62% and scoring every which way but loose, followups, threes, retrieving loose balls, drives and dunks.

The Hawks are a mess pretty much because of Young and his poor defense and overweening ball domination. He was one of four Hawks to score at least 20 points with 22, Murray leading with 30. But the Bulls drivers constantly sought out Young over screens because of his poor defense. Young had by far the poorest Atlanta plus-minus and shot 4-of-12 with six turnovers. Though that’s not the Bulls problem.

It seemed the Bulls might have one briefly when the Hawks made that second quarter run with Murray leading the way. But after the Hawks moved within 40-36 in a flash, it was flash Dosunmu with a driving score as the Bulls pushed the ball out of the backcourt whenever they could against historically poor Atlanta transition defense. The Bulls with White getting one of his two steals led DeRozan for a run out slam dunk and foul for a 14-point lead. Atlanta worked its way back within 73-67 in a defense optional first half after Caruso left.

Then with the Hawks trapping DeRozan, he helped get the ball moving with nine of the Bulls 27 assists, and Hawks defenders with heads spinning like they were in Beetlejuice. White had several drives like he was a bit of Jason Williams, Kyrie Irving and Bob Cousy, and the fans had seen enough, and came the third quarter roars for, “Coby! Coby! Coby!”

The Bulls led 110-92 after three quarters with White adding 14 more in the fourth quarter, back breaking for the Hawks with ankle breaking by White.

“Just grateful to be where I am,” said White. “That first playoff series I had in my career (against Milwaukee) didn’t go how I wanted it to go. Last year I played better in the play-in.”

There’s a famous verse from the English philosopher G. K. Chesterton: “God paints in many colors, but he never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when he paints in white.”

Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam at&nbsp;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.

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Coby White's 42 leads Bulls past Hawks in the Play-in

Could it be that Victor Wembanyama is feeling Adama Sanogo’s hot breath coming up on him in the Rookie of the Year race with Sanogo’s 22 points and 20 rebounds — the only rookie 20-20 game this season after Wembanyama’s — in Friday’s Bulls 129-127 victory over the Washington Wizards?

Which was pretty much the theme of Friday’s elevated pre-season type fun game because the Bulls rested most of their starters with the play-in home court game for next week cliched against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Wizards resting most of their regulars for we’re not sure why.

So it was a night for milestones and actually an entertaining, if inefficient, conclusion for the Bulls who survived losing a six-point lead in the last 40 seconds when Patrick Baldwin Jr’s free throw to tie the game with 6.2 seconds left went awry and into Sanogo’s grasp for rebound number 20.

And thus became not only the second NBA rookie with a 20-20 game this season, but the second in Bulls history after Charles Oakley in 1985. With four Bulls players scoring at least 20 points led by Javonte Green’s 24, Green set a career-high with 20 first-half points and didn’t play much in the second half. Jevon Carter had his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 assists, and Coby White added 20 points while DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vučević and Alex Caruso all rested in the back-to-back as the Bulls inched up to 39-42 with a final regular season game Sunday in New York.

Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Drummond both remained out with injuries with both hopeful of returning for the play-in game or games. Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, Julian Phillips and, of course, Lonzo Ball are out for the season. Washington didn’t play most of their guys you’ve heard of like Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley and Jordan Poole and couldn’t get that rare 16th win.

So it was an opportunity for the guys who usually watch and have to cheer — look, no one who really wants to play can be that excited for others taking their place although we play along — to have some fun.

And some of the most for the Bulls was the likable Mali native who was Most Outstanding Player of last year’s NCAA tournament champion UConn team and a two-way player for the Bulls who has been putting up huge numbers for the Windy City Bulls.

But at 6-foot-9 and without that so called above-the-rim game, Sanogo wasn’t drafted. It’s a similar question haunting Purdue star Zach Edey, though his 7-foot-4 size should get him into this year’s NBA draft, if perhaps not in the first round.

The NBA is even more an athletic and shooting game, especially with the emphasis on the three-pointers. The conventional wisdom has been the onset of the center less game, though paradoxically Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid were the most recent MVP winners.

So perhaps there is a place for someone like Sanogo, who makes up for his lack of size and leaping ability with clever footwork, solid fundamentals and a Drummond-like hunger for missed shots with 10 offensive rebounds. Maybe they just don’t have a training table at UConn. 

“For some of our younger guys to be in a game like that (was good) because you don’t experience some of the things that happened at the end,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “I thought Javonte was really, really good. I thought Dalen (Terry) gave us really good minutes. It was unfortunate he picked up fouls; he’s got to be better, he’s got to be smarter in the type of fouls he’s picking up. I thought Adama did a really good job. He started the game slow and missed a lot of easy stuff around the basket, but I thought he settled in during the second half and made some nice plays around the basket, finished and certainly rebounded. Henri (Drell) came off the bench and made some threes, but the guy I was really personally happy for was Jevon. I thought he played really well, a veteran guy who had a huge impact on the game and for a guy who’s been in and out of the lineup, he always tries to keep himself ready. There were a lot of individual performances that contributed to us having a chance.

“His (Sanogo) situation, maybe the most underrated thing about him is basically because he does not play necessarily above the rim and a lot of his stuff is around the basket is angles; he’s really good with his feet,” said Donovan. “We switched a lot defensively and he does a good job moving his feet and keeping people in front of him. He’s very good in pick and roll coverage. There were several times when he had to close out and contest three-point shots, so that’s (also a) really underrated area of his. He’s going to have to figure out there’s a lot more size here than there was in college. There he could just carve out space physically and overpower you and finish. Now when there’s length between he and the basket, he has to find ways to finish. I give him credit. I thought he adjusted as the game went on.”

And Sanogo said he’s been ready to pounce while averaging about 22 and 12 for Windy City.

"I've been waiting for this all year,” said Sanogo. “So to be able to come in and do it now, it feels great. This is like a dream come true for me. I think that is why I am here. I don't think I got here by chance. I got here because these guys believe in me. These guys think I can have a chance. I've got to show that, too, that I can do this. I’ve been waiting for this all year to have a chance. You don’t get this chance a lot, so that was my mindset to go get it.”

The Bulls got this one in the end, though it didn’t matter much with their matchup locked in for the first play-in game Wednesday against Atlanta. The winner of that game then on the road faces the loser of the 7/8 play-in game, which is scheduled to be played Tuesday. But those teams are not determined yet among Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami.

So the high scoring and highest energy Bulls became spectators as Donovan started his dream small lineup with Green at center.

Donovan said there was some method to the madness as an experiment to play a compete small ball lineup to see how that functions even if it’s not with the same players who would be in the play-in tournament.

So the game was wide open NBA with Washington ahead 40-33 in the first quarter, the Bulls see-sawing to a 65-62 halftime lead, the Bulls still ahead by three heading into the fourth quarter with both teams already threatening 100 points, and then a lot more action than we get from Congress, anyway, in the last six minutes.

Terry had a wild driving dunk and primal reaction while Drell provided accompanying theatrics. The kids were having fun. &nbsp;

Torrey Craig with 11 points and 15 rebounds made a clutch three with about a minute left, and then the Bulls missed four of their last eight free throws to give Washington a chance. Really, overtime in the game? Please, no. Corey Kispert made a three with 24 seconds left to cut the Bulls lead to 127-126. Sanogo made one of two free throws, and then Baldwin missed his second for the tie. Sanogo dropped one of two free throws before Kispert to tie missed a runner at the buzzer.

Which was quite enough basketball on this night. And on to Madison Square Garden for the final dress rehearsal.

Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam at asksam@bulls.com

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Bulls beat Wizards behind Adama Sanogo's 20-20 performance off the bench

The NBA Store isn’t offering the authentic locker room baseball caps and t-shirts, but the Bulls with Thursday’s 127-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons did clinch something.

Which is the franchise’s first post season game since 2022, and home for that matter, likely April 17, and certainly against the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament to select the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bulls will need to defeat Atlanta and then the loser of the Nos. 7/8 game Friday in the home arena of that losing team. If the Bulls win both games, they’d likely open the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs April 21 in Boston.&nbsp;

“I love it,” said DeMar DeRozan, who carried the easy Bulls win pretty much from the start with 39 points, his third consecutive game with at least 30 points and fourth in the last five games. “I love those moments; it’s what you play for, to be in those moments, have those moments, be tested in those moments.

"We wanted to make sure we secured our first game at home in front of our fans,” said DeRozan. “Redeem ourselves. We’re playing for everything. It’s tough to go on the road to try to win multiple games. At home play in front of your crowd and generate the energy you need to win and carry that over to the road and try to win a road game as well. Put all the positives we’ve had this year together. We’ve got to throw it all out there in the play-in game. We’ve had a lot of great moments this year team wise, individually. We’ve got to put all that together to give us an opportunity to win and get into the playoffs.”

It wasn’t such a great moment Thursday against one of the worst teams in NBA history playing out a desultory season with most of its starting players missing. But the Bulls needed a win to assure the United Center game to open the post season tournament, and at least the Bulls took it seriously.

DeRozan was on target and alert from the tip, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. And while the Pistons hung around in a 31-30 Bulls first quarter lead, the outcome was really never in doubt despite two Pistons wins over the Bulls this season. Andre Drummond and Ayo Dosunmu remained out with injuries joining the quartet of Bulls long gone for the season. But Detroit was without Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Quentin Grimes and Ausar Thompson. And though Detroit coach Monty Williams stood up a lot, it wasn’t clear why as his team roamed around somewhat indifferently, 20 turnovers for a whopping 36 Bulls points.&nbsp;

The Bulls got ahead by nine points at halftime and piled it on afterward, leading by double digits the entire second half and up to 28 as the Pistons players three nights before with little stirring on their house were likely having visions of Cancun beaches dancing in their heads.

It will certainly be a gift for them when this one is over.

The Bulls, however, hope to keep working a bit longer, and they got a boost from a sharp shooting Nikola Vučević with 27 points, Coby White with 18, Dalen Terry with 12, Alex Caruso with eight points and 10 assists and Javonte Green with 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

“DeMar was unbelievable for the whole game, terrific scoring the ball,” agreed Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “I thought we moved and shared the ball. We found Vooch in the pocket a lot and he was able to make plays as well. I thought collectively we shared the ball and tried to defend.

“I'm happy for these guys,” Donovan added. “Sometimes you look in the moment at where you are at and you don’t get a chance to look at where you started. It was a rough start for us and I appreciate the guys in that locker room sticking together, fighting and not quitting and not giving up, not making excuses or pointing fingers, trying to rally and play together and playing better. As the season continued to go on we lost players and we never wavered. I think what they’ve done to get to this point is great. There’s obviously still a lot in front of us in terms of opportunities in what you want to create. After that Boston game in the in-season tournament when we got blown out on their court (and dropped to 5-14), I felt like from that point we at least started to put together better basketball. It’s an 82-game season. You don’t get a chance to wipe out 20 games. So we had to overcome that and I thought the group did that.”

The Bulls are 38-42, and now 33-28 since that rocky, rickety start. So they are hoping to ride that improvement and perhaps positive momentum through the play-in gauntlet. While the Bulls have clinched a game with the Hawks, it’s still unclear who will be the Nos. 7and 8 teams. And there’s even some uncertainly about playing days because of potential arena conflicts.

That all should be worked out by the time the Bulls finish the regular season with games Friday in Washington and Sunday in New York, the latter changed to a national ESPN game (noon) because the Knicks could be in position to move up to the No. 2 seed.

The Bulls likely will cut back on some playing time for regulars these next two games with nothing to play for. But Donovan said some players prefer not being off for long stretches, so regulars may choose to play despite heavy minutes loads all season. He said there will be discussions with the players, management and medical staff to determine rotations for the last two games.

Even if it’s the first home post-season game for the Bulls in two years, it’s no guarantee.

“I always thought our place is a great place to play,” said Donovan. “It’s an electric crowd, an electric environment. Obviously, it’s up to us to give them something to cheer about, something to be excited about. I think you always want to have that opportunity to play there. If we are fortunate enough to get through and get into a playoff series you’re going to have two games there, so it’s great to be able to do that. But if you look at some of the things that happened last year, some teams went on the road and won. Atlanta went into Miami and won, Oklahoma City won, we won in Toronto. It is nice to play at home, but it doesn’t necessarily insure anything.”

Perhaps because the Bulls won in Atlanta this season and the Hawks won in Chicago.

The Bulls won two of the three games between the team, and the Bulls actually may have a bit of an advantage because Atlanta just got Trae Young back from injury. Though he’s their big name scorer and All-Star, the Hawks played their best defensive game against the Bulls earlier this month in the United Center with Young still recuperating from finger surgery.&nbsp;

The Bulls won the first matchup back in December with Vučević out injured, 118-113. Drummond starting for Vučević had his best game of the season with 24 points and 25 rebounds. Then in February, Dosunmu, who has a history of excellent scoring games against the Hawks, had a career-best 29 points in a 136-126 Bulls win. Young, also a notoriously poor defender, has struggled routinely against Caruso, shooting 6-of-17 in the first game and 3-of-14 in the second. But without Young in that April 1 game, the Hawks prevailed 113-101.

Though the matchups have hardly been a rivalry since some of the great Michael Jordan/Dominique Wilkins shootouts and dunkfests of the 1980s, many of the Bulls/Hawks games have been extraordinary in recent years with a four-overtime Bulls victory a few years back that was the third highest scoring game in league history, and the teams splitting buzzer beating wins last season.

And now as the players like to say from experience, it’s the NCAA tournament stage with the one-and-done format for at least the 9/10 teams in the play-in. The Bulls believe they’ll be ready.

“I feel like we all believe in eachother,” said White. “Obviously, we’ve got a lot of guys out. But no matter who’s playing we believe in each other and are all here for a reason. It’ll be good for us to play at home. I know the United Center will be jumping; it’s always jumping. Last year we were the 10 seed, so both of our games were away. So it’ll be good to get the home crowd behind us. Being able to play games at home is always big for us. We’re a team, and we all really get along with each other. We all continue to uplift each other through everything, so it’s been a fun season for sure.”

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DeRozan scores 39 as Bulls run past Pistons, clinch No. 9-seed in Play-in Tournament

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.

“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.

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.”

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Bulls stumble against Knicks despite DeRozan's 34

Enough already with the happiest place on earth stuff with Orlando.

Because you know at some point it’s about vomiting and the kids going wild and that $14 hot dog. Which the Bulls surely experienced Sunday in a 113-98 loss to the Orlando Magic, sick about this roller coaster of a season with another bad loss after a good win, enduring the pain of the young legs and long arms of those Magic kids who swept the Bulls this season and at least the cost of effectively being able to clinch ninth in the play-in tournament. While also accepting yet another season failing to get above .500 as the Bulls dropped to 37-41 with four games left in the regular season.

“I don’t want to continue use the word consistency, but we’ve got to be able to fundamentally not beat ourselves,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan, alluding to a fatal 21 Bulls turnovers for 28 Orlando points. “If you wanted to say one thing I would look at, I thought we beat ourselves.&nbsp;

“I’m not taking away credit from Orlando,” Donovan nevertheless insisted. “They played a really good game, and they deserved to win the game. They outplayed us, outcoached us, everything all the way through. But there was certainly a lot of things that we impacted and affected in the game.”

The Magic was basically better yet again with their young legs and long arms wrecking havoc on the Bulls offense as they’d basically done in each of those four games this season. That formula has been lethal to the Bulls this season, continuing to eclipse their hopes with a darkness that continues to block out their sunny hopes.

Along with the three-point shooting deficit, which wasn’t a factor with the Magic. Orlando’s 11-of-34 threes didn’t determine the outcome despite the Bulls making just 6-of-20 long ones.

But the Magic actually in the hunt for second place in the Eastern Conference with the Bucks and Cavaliers cratering, used their first-look-at-Disneyland enthusiasm to steal the game from the start, a 17-point Orlando lead by the end of the first quarter and still 17-points entering the fourth quarter. Until DeMar DeRozan shot it down to 96-90 with 6:49 left in regulation.

“You don’t want to take all the credit away from a team that forces that many turnovers, but we’re not going to win turning the ball over 21 times, and a lot of it was careless and sloppy,” insisted Donovan in not taking this one too well. “Our fundamentals needed to be a whole lot better than they were. DeMar is usually a pretty good guy taking care of the ball. So it’s a little bit uncharacteristic (seven turnovers, three in 90 seconds in the first quarter as Orlando was up double digits within six minutes). But there were plays by everybody I thought that contributed. It’s hard to score points and win a game when you do that.

“We were down by 18 or 19 and they fought their way back,” Donovan did point out. “We got to six or seven and called timeout and then it went from seven to 13 really quickly. But I thought that group (DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry and Torrey Craig) really competed, was disruptive, got stops, was active with their hands, got some loose balls, helped us get out in transition. Obviously, DeMar (with 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter) got going. But as well as that group played we had too much to overcome; we were constantly fighting from behind, constantly.”

And never really seeming like a threat to succeed.

Though the good news at least for this part of the season is that even with the loss, the Bulls are in good position to at least open the play-in tournament at home April 17.

The Bulls have a one-game lead on Atlanta, which is 36-42.

But since the Bulls winning the season series 2-1 have the tiebreaker, the Hawks would have to finish a game ahead. Atlanta plays a desperate Miami team Tuesday and also the Pacers and Timberwolves fighting for position. The Bulls play the Knicks twice, but otherwise the eliminated Pistons and Wizards.

So assuming that holds, the Bulls will open the play-in tournament Wednesday April 17 in an elimination game against the Hawks, who did win in Chicago last week. The winner of that game visits the 7/8 losing team Friday. The 7/8 game is played Tuesday.

The NBA doesn’t say such things, but they basically don’t want the 9/10 teams in the playoffs. After all, since the 16-team playoff format began in 1984 until the play-in was introduced in 2020, teams finishing ninth and 10th were not in the playoffs. The play-in has kept more fans interested, and TV — and NBA headquarters — loves these mini-tournaments. But the league still gives the advantage to the 7/8 teams. They need to win one game while the 9/10 teams need to win two. And the 7/8 teams get more rest while 9/10 play Wednesday and Friday.

The winner of the 7/8 game opens the playoffs against the No. 2 team in the conference, which now is a battle among Milwaukee, New York, Orlando, Cleveland, Indiana Philadelphia and Miami. They are separated by three games with three or four games left for each.

The loser of the 7/8 game or the 9/10 winner — if the latter defeats the vanquished — gets a first round matchup with league leading Boston.

So the Bulls might be able to begin easing up some by the end of the week.

They still were pushing Sunday as DeRozan piled on another 40 minutes and Coby White even 38 despite being questionable with a sprained ankle. Alex Caruso didn’t play with his ankle and toe problems. Javonte Green started for him and had 15 points, but Green and Dosunmu were overwhelmed early in matchups against the long armed Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Orlando kids opened the game shooting over each as Orlando posted a 16-2 advantage on inside points with dunks and layups. The Bulls even made a pair of threes to one by the Magic, but trailed by 19 points late in the quarter.

Dosunmu and Drummond each had 14 points and White, refusing to give in to a variety of health issues lately, had 11 points. The season obviously is having its way with White, who is shooting 37% overall in his nine games back since his hip injury in Indiana and 31% on threes. Nikola Vučević had a tough night with eight points and 1-of-9 shooting as Donovan played his centers together in several stints. Drummond was the only Bulls with a positive plus/minus. But Orlando controlled the reserve scoring 43-20 as Markelle Fultz had 19 points. Starting Orlando guard Jalen Suggs outpaced the Bulls for 19 points. Franz Wagner missed most of the second half with a sprained ankle.

Then after that DeRozan eruption, Orlando had its lead back to 14 points two minutes later with Banchero going back to work over smaller Bulls defenders and then helping set up threes from Joe Ingles and Wendell Carter Jr. that quickly clinched the outcome.&nbsp;

“We can’t play the Jekyll and Hyde game,” said DeRozan. “We have to find some consistency these last couple of games. We’ve just got to. We have to be desperate and have a desperate mindset. We need to leave it all out there on the floor. I think we have like (four) games left; we have to make sure we are trending in the right direction.”

DeRozan already has said he prefers to play, but if the Bulls, say, get to Friday in Washington with their place in the standings settled, you figure they’ll cut back on the playing time of at least White, Dosunmu and Caruso, who’ve played career minutes per game this season. Though, of course, the Bulls still do need some Atlanta losses.&nbsp;

The Bulls could also use some wins, if also for some momentum and confidence.

But that was not to be almost from the start Sunday as it was a tower of terror from the young Magic, another of those long and athletic across the front line teams that often give the Bulls problems against their guard-oriented power forward lineup.

It was 21-6 Orlando less than eight minutes into the game after a Franz Wagner three, the Magic’s only one in the first quarter. Vučević responded with a 16-footer, so Orlando went right back with Suggs throwing a lob to Carter. Yes, ooop.

“I put (turnovers) on me,” said DeRozan. “That is very uncharacteristic of myself having seven turnovers. It is going to eat me up tonight. But I think all of us, we were just trying to do too much instead of making the simple (play). We were trying to make the simple harder than what it was. You have to give credit to them, too. They are a big team, length, size; they play extremely well.”

And then DeRozan did to begin the fourth quarter, and the way NBA games these days are a giant teeter-totter, and the way DeRozan just owns the fourth quarter you thought that maybe, like they say nearby in Disneyworld, dreams can come true.&nbsp;

And then reality sets in and you feel like you waited an hour next to a guy whose shorts are sticking to his thighs. Nice to get out of there, especially for the Bulls.

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Bulls rally late but come up short against Orlando

Woo, that was some slam dunk, that second quarter double pump, over the shoulder Bogdan cryin’, rim-ratlin’, Bulls battlin’, Thibs beggin’, Knicks dyin’, wham, bam Bulls bench boogey-in’ scene that was in the midst of the Bulls taking their biggest lead in Friday’s wire to wire, don’t-bring-that-weak stuff in here 108-100 Bulls victory over the New York Knicks.

“It was a great feeling,” said Javonte Green, who put up career-bests with 25 points and 13 rebounds in just his fourth game back with the Bulls since knee surgery and a return stay in the G League. “I’m not going to help Andre pay the fine (Drummond, for the technical foul someone had to get when the Bulls bench erupted in dance with Green’s finish). “I feel like that’s my game, just bringing (energy) into the game and just playing as hard as I can. Bring excitement to the game and just play as hard as I can and try to help win each game for the team.”

Green did all that and more in the form of a living grenade, his stored energy exposed to the heat of the United Center fans, and the Bulls desperation to gain some traction for the home court ninth seed in the upcoming pre-playoffs play-in tournament.

The Bulls, 37-40 and effectively two games ahead of 10th place Atlanta with just five games left because of the tiebreaker, in the first of three games against the Knicks in these last 10 days controlled the game virtually throughout. And then in the everyone-makes-a-run category, the Bulls got a Green putback layup with 2:06 left in the game after the Knicks came the closest they would be since the first quarter when it was 101-97 Bulls.

Isaiah Hartenstein split two free throws after Green’s score, but then Nikola Vučević struck the shooter’s pose for a capper of a three and 106-98 lead with 1:33 left. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 35 points and 11 assists, and then finished a pair of free throws. But Ayo Dosunmu matched that with another blur of a score with 1:12 left. And then after Donte DiVincenzo rebounded a Brunson miss with about a minute remaining and the Bulls leading by eight, it was another moment you just went woo as Green stole DiVincenzo pass and the Knicks passed (away, at least for this night).

Dosunmu had 24 points after igniting a 29-17 Bulls first quarter with 14 points, making 6-of-9 shots with a pair of threes. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points, pacing himself mostly until needed late with nine fourth-quarter points. In the Pat Riley rebounds equal rings category, the Bulls stole the Knicks valuables with a 57-38 domination on the boards. Vučević had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Drummond, who teamed with Vučević most of the fourth quarter, added 10 points and 16 rebounds.

But, whew, it was mostly a night for Woo, the nickname the Bulls players have for the energetic forward who simply just vaporized the Knicks in this game.

There was a lob dunk, and a dunk from the left baseline — appropriately named — dunker’s spot, there was a hard drive off the left wing, follows, cutbacks and what the heck, even a three in Green’s career night.

“Amazing,” marveled DeRozan. “I’ll never forget the game in Golden State (last season) when he hurt himself. It was a big blow for us, (losing) the energy, the enthusiastic style of play he brings. We needed a spark like Woo. For him to come back in a tough year for him, somebody we know and understand and we are comfortable with and we know what we're going to get, and we've been feeding off that.

"He's one of those guys you want to have on your team," DeRozan continued. "We all know what to expect from Woo. Every time he goes out there, he plays like he's 6-9 and he goes out there and does anything and whatever for the team. He also has that 'dawg' mentality in him to where once he steps on the court, there's no easing into anything. He dunks like he's 6-9, how fast he gets off the floor, how quick he is, how hard he dunks the ball. It’s incredible. The guy’s one of a kind. He makes it easy on all of us. There was a timeout he was telling Ayo to just throw the ball up. Like two possessions later he’s dunking it. Gets the crowd involved, gets us involved. He also makes up for a lot of mistakes. He knows how to be around the basketball and get steals; he does a lot of things that get us going.”

You know how maybe they say never too late?

Maybe the Bulls Green will be the kryptonite for at least the likely play-in tournament opponent Hawks.

Green came back to the Bulls on a 10-day contract that this week was converted to a regular NBA contract so he can be eligible for the post season games. The Bulls released Terry Taylor to create a spot for Green.

“For me personally what he went through this summer, not really finding a home and having to go to the G League, I think there’s always something to be said about guys who have had to go through what he went through as far as a hunger standpoint, small school, not really drafted, the end of Boston’s beach. An opportunity presents itself here and he’s hungry to play and the thing I respect and admire about him is he gets himself up and ready to play,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “l’ve always been a Javonte Green fan, so when they (management) told me I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to have him back.’ He’s always been great to work with, great energy, great motor, great disposition, great in the locker room; the guys love him.”

The fans, too, as the Bulls without enough long distance shooting to compete with some of the top teams look like they may be able to rely on this sort of frenetic play to counter some of their deficiencies.

That took a bit of a hit, though, Friday as Coby White and Alex Caruso both left the game after ankle sprains. Donovan said he didn’t know yet the severity, but both appeared to be moving reasonably well in the locker room after the game.

White could not start the second half, so he was replaced by Green, who had been first off the bench earlier in the game. Green also took Caruso’s closing defensive role. Caruso actually did what I thought was the most impressive defensive game on a 35-point scorer. Which also suggests how good Brunson is as perhaps a legitimate league MVP candidate with a Knicks team that doesn’t look like its 45-32 record.

They did lose Julius Randle for the season and rugged regular Josh Hart was ejected late in the first quarter for kicking Green (there he was again), though it seemed obviously unintentional.

That being to everyone but referee Scott Foster.

Still, Caruso picked up Brunson full court, drew charges as Brunson got screens, forced other Knicks to make plays with the ball, and even as Brunson got his points, the effect was to slow the Knicks offense. Which enabled the Bulls to hike up their lead to 20 points late in the second quarter and 16 at halftime. And thus this time be the team that was able to hold on and hold off because the other guys were in that deep deficit well.

It also helped that the Bulls started the game like a team coming off three days without a game against a team on the second of a back-to-back.&nbsp;

“I felt like we had a lot more pop today,” said Donovan. “I felt like the three days off really helped us.”

Dosunmu, especially, apparently auditioning to be shot out of a cannon (do they do that anymore?), attacking the smaller Brunson off the dribble to start the game and scoring easily. Dosunmu’s transition has been both literally on the 94 feet and perhaps more so between the ears. Once hesitant that led to his regression last season and the Bulls apparently prioritizing a guard in free agency, Dosunmu is looking like not only one of the league’s fastest players off the dribble but as much with the confidence of the engine that could. He doesn’t think he can; he now knows he can.

In many respects, his improvement is as impressive as that of White’s, a top candidate for the league’s most improved award, if not going back as far. Averaging 12 points for the season, Dosunmu is averaging more than 16 and 43% on threes the last 37 games back to early January. That’s double his scoring average from last season.

His 14 first-quarter points stunned the Knicks, and then it was Green with that running dunk off the wing (on a Dosunmu pass), 11 second-quarter points from Green for a 61-45 Bulls halftime lead.

The Knicks began to recover after halftime as the Bulls continued to err on threes, 7-of-23 for the game. And it didn’t help not having White in the second half. But the Bulls with Green were making up for it on the hustle board, offensive rebounds (19-9 edge) and movement with Green slicing up the Knicks with knife sharp cuts for scores.

“He just gets himself in there and makes plays at both ends of the floor whether it was steals or offensive rebounds or good cuts back door to give us extra points,” said Donovan about the 6-foot-5 Green, a Benny and the Elevators possibility without the trampoline. “I thought his energy was terrific; changed the game in a lot of ways for us. He’s really elite when shots go up at what angles to take to keep balls alive.”

Dennis Rodman, clone, anyone? Without the makeup.&nbsp;

“He’s very explosive and can get there quickly and get off the floor quickly,” said Donovan, always anxious to break it down. “He manufacturers a lot of points. When you can generate those easy baskets it helps. Cutting is really a high-level skill that’s really, really hard to teach. Because a lot of it is instinctive. A lot of it is seeing a gap. Sometimes you can just start running and cutting into people and killing spacing or killing a drive. He’s got a really good feel and awareness of when and where to go.”

Even Green wasn’t sure where, however, after the knee injury last season after becoming a Bulls favorite. No NBA team made him an offer last summer as he continued rehabilitation, and the Bulls went free agency for Torrey Craig. Golden State gave him a chance at their Santa Cruz G League spot, but not on a two-way contract. So by rule any NBA team could make him an offer. Finally the Bulls did. It’s difficult to believe after what we’ve seen in these few games what everyone else was doing.

Players come back. Not so much do they go up in the air again like that.

“For a guy to have surgery and not be signed and someone said he had knee surgery or he was out of the league because of his knee, and you’d say, ‘I highly doubt that,’” said Donovan about seeing Green’s bounce. “No question it’s pretty amazing.”

It would have been a tough loss to digest after what Green brought. But after the Knicks got within 81-76 after three quarters, DeRozan recognized his time and opened the fourth quarter with consecutive scores as the Bulls recovered a double-digit lead, extended it to a dozen with eight minutes left.&nbsp;

And then had just enough wow left from Woo.

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Javonte Green's career night propels Bulls past Knicks

So why did it take the Bulls 75 games to think of it?

Just run the offense through Alex “the Third Splash Brother” Caruso, who Sunday made seven three-pointers to go along with his typical five steals, to lead the Bulls to a 109-101 victory over the Western Conference contending Minnesota Timberwolves.

So maybe the Bulls can continue to ride Downtown Alex Caruso, though they might need a petition to address their other big problem lately, that being their home in the Eastern Conference. The win, which brought the Bulls to 36-39 and gave them some space from 10th place and Monday United Center visitor Atlanta, was yet another against the supposedly superior Western Conference. Against whom the Bulls have had the most success this season with the second most wins to league leading Boston among East teams against Western Conference opponents.

Maybe just a 40-mile move to West Chicago could change things?

Though for now what changed things was Caruso 7-of-8 on threes, and what didn’t change, which was another clutch closing performance from DeMar DeRozan, who led the Bulls with 27 points and eight assists. Bulls-eye Alex added 21 points, Nikola Vučević had 19 points and Coby White came out of his shooting funk with 17 points on four of six threes with the closer assuring the win with 18 seconds left after the Timberwolves seemed to regain control and the lead with about five minutes remaining. The Bulls had led by 16 points early in the third quarter.

But then after Rudy Gobert finished yet another Timberwolves second chance for a 97-96 lead with 5:21 left in regulation and had extended that to 99-96, DeRozan ripped a dribble from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and scored on the runout. And then after Jaden McDaniels missed and Gobert gagged up a pair of free throws, DeRozan stood tall for a three.&nbsp;

Anthony Edwards, whom Caruso defended as well as you can, missed. And then DeRozan L-shaped the ball to Alex “the Shot” Caruso for his seventh three via a he's-ready-for-Olympic-beach-volleyball two-hand tap from Vučević to Caruso for a 104-99 Bulls lead with 2:27 left. 

It was pretty much over a few seconds later when Mike Conley got too deep and threw the ball away for a White breakaway. White then closed it with that final three, the Timberwolves aiding by missing their last nine three-point tries.

Like White says, make or miss league as the Bulls — yes, the Bulls — were 17-of-29 (59%) on threes to Minnesota’s woeful 11-of-37.

But it’s who makes them and who misses, and it’s no fluke for Caruso this season going over 40% on threes for the season and 63% the last five games.

Right, and the five steals and helping hold the explosive Edwards to 22 points and 0-for-six on threes.

“AC was amazing, the passion, the will; definitely one of a kind,” said DeRozan admiringly. “For a guy who’s been banged up throughout the year, every time he steps out there on the court he lays it out there, puts his heart and soul into the game. It’s amazing to have a teammate like that. For him to carry us tonight for what he did on both ends of the floor is a sign of his greatness and the heart and mindset he has toward the game.

“He’s too smart of a basketball player to be overlooked,” said DeRozan about the undrafted two-time G League graduate. “He knows how to play the game at a high level. Not just defensively; obviously, that part stands out. But he’s one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever played with. His IQ to the game is amazing. When you have someone that smart, they know where to be offensively and make it easier on everybody else.”

And talk about mixing in with everyone else.&nbsp;

Perhaps that may remind you of Forrest Gump as this version of the Chicago Bulls.&nbsp;

Like Forrest says his mama told him about life, that it was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Too bad Winston Groom didn’t make him a basketball fan. He might have described this season’s version of the Bulls, the blowout win over Indiana last week after the home loss to Washington, the road loss in Brooklyn before the road win in Minnesota. Road wins in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Golden State and New Orleans, home losses to Toronto and Detroit.

“It’s frustrating because we know our capabilities,” admitted DeRozan. “We know we can beat anybody. So when we lose the games where I see it all the time, where Twitter goes crazy on us, like we’re the most confusing team. It’s definitely frustrating because that’s not us. When we go out and perform the way we did tonight, that’s who we are. It’s all about being consistent and these last however many games, we gotta play this way.”

C’mon, he’s looking at Twitter? They told us they’re always watching film. 

“Another Dateline episode,” quipped DeRozan about another shocking Bulls story of rising from seemingly being left fro dead. “That says a lot about our character, our will to keep going, not to quit, to bounce back when things aren’t going our way. That’s a lot of character. You gotta have a group of guys that’s all in it together. It’s like the saying, we take the good with the bad, the bad with the good. Right, wrong or indifferent, we ride for one another and we show that every single night.”

Sort of like Churchill’s, “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”

Better to have a chocolate. You might get the milky one.