DeMar DeRozan was, dare we say, yes, dare, dare, absolutely Jordanian on Wednesday in the Bulls’ 132-129 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Right from there – and where have you heard this before – making the most improbable shot to force overtime after not only leading the Bulls in the fourth quarter and overtime, a game-high 46 total points, including the team’s first eight points in overtime. to give the Bulls a lead they would finally hold, and before his clutch play extender made a remarkable missed intentional free throw with 3.8 seconds left in regulation and a two-point Bulls deficit that allowed DeRozan to then stun the Pacers with his magic hoops.
And it was indeed a magical moment because it wasn’t just a moment where one player made or missed the match. It was the imagination, the instinct, the incongruous, the creativity, the tightrope, the captivating, the daring, the prodigious, the charismatic, the chance while being careful, a kaleidoscope of events and improbable and memorable sensations that define the best of gaming.
That’s right, we’re not yet out of adjectives for his exploits.
“It’s like survival mode kicking in, but in a fun way,” said DeRozan, who then discusses these things as if he’s just returned from a leisurely meal.
Talk about eating certain opponents.
“You enjoy those moments,” DeRozan said. “I’m not afraid to fail. I’m not afraid to try to make things happen. I want these moments more than anything. It always reminds me of my childhood, being a kid and doing the little faux pas, jumping on the bed and pretending to shoot. As a competitor, these moments are always something I try to savor.
No hot dog, but DeRozan knows how to cut the mustard.
“As a student of the game, I’ve seen the craziest results,” DeRozan explained. “I always keep that in mind. Anything is possible. It’s not over until time is up. Every time we’re in a situation like that, I always think it could be another situation where something wild could happen in our favor and I’m sticking with it. It was one of those games where everything lined up for you and you have to take care of the moment. Tonight it It was one of those situations; you have to stick with it, and we stuck with it.
“I told JC (Jevon Carter, sitting next to DeRozan in the locker room after the game and like almost everyone else, hanging on to the words of the oracle) to start the overtime…”
DeRozan then turned to Carter, as he would on some crucial plays late in overtime against his teammates when the desperate Pacers were trapped, and they fell into DeRozan’s trap when he passed to Alex Caruso who handed the ball to Torrey Craig for the final put in the heart. Pacers hopes.
“What did I tell you?” » DeRozan happily proposed to Carter with a laugh.
“He said he was going to go crazy,” Carter said of the pre-overtime statement.
But only the Pacers went crazy as the Bulls at 31-34 got a little closer to Indiana, which fell to 37-30.
And that will surely leave a mark since Indiana really made the match on one of the biggest blocks to forget with 9.8 seconds left in regulation, Indiana back in front 115-114 in a match with 28 lead changes and ties and that the Bulls led by eight points at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Pacers kept the blocked shot — and it really was a special effort from Pascal Siakam — and the Bulls intentionally fouled with 5.5 seconds left in regulation. Andrew Nembhard casually made both free throws for a 117-114 Indiana lead with 5.5 seconds left in regulation. The Pacers then opted to commit an intentional foul to avoid a potential three-way tie, which, with less than five seconds left, is a common NBA strategy.
But then you have to get the second free throw intentionally missed, or knock it down, or pretty much everything except what Indiana did, which was knock it out of bounds. Thus giving the ball to the Bulls with 2.4 seconds remaining.
Indiana probably has DeRozan nightmares with the first of those back-to-back three-point winners, DeRozan showed up for the Bulls a few years ago.
“I was just trying to get a good miss, especially with (Nikola Vučević) Vooch and Dre (Andre Drummond) in there,” DeRozan said of the free throw sequence in Wednesday’s win. “I’m here and we had an even better shot with him (Pacer) tapping the ball out of bounds and giving us another possession to make things happen, so I’m glad I missed the way I missed . AC was telling me where and how to miss it, and I said, “I’ll do my best.” I shot it high on purpose. Sometimes that doesn’t work. But sometimes a bounce gives everyone a chance to rate it and get a tip from there.
“(Then on the inbounds play), I actually stopped the play,” DeRozan revealed. “I just found an opening and made the shot. I told AC, whatever the play was, I was going to open up somehow, and I kind of broke up the play and got to a place where they didn’t think not that the ball would go. It’s not over until it’s over. Being in the league for so long, studying the game and seeing the craziest results to win a game, I always keep that in mind that it’s not over until time is up. When we’re in a situation like that, I always think something crazy could happen in our favor. So stick with it.
Even if there was gloomy amidst the joy.
When Siakam completed that chase block against Coby White in what appeared to be poised to be a Bulls win and a three-point lead with less than 10 seconds remaining, Siakam landed hard on White . White was lying on the field and had to be helped limp to the locker room and did not return for overtime.
That came when it looked like White would be the hero after slipping twice in the final five minutes on Pacer cross-court passes that led to Bulls baskets before that third and fateful run-out.
After a slow start to the game, White allowed 15 points as significant offensive support for DeRozan came from Caruso with 23 points and five threes – 4 of 4 and 13 points in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Pacers were taking the lead. control of the game – and Ayo Dosunmu with 20 points including a daring drive with 1:33 left in regulation for a 112-109 lead for the Bulls and again in overtime with less than a minute to play.
“Other guys are going to have to step up and make plays and he (DeRozan) is going to see different coverages, and a lot of times when that happens, other guys have to make plays,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. . “I give Ayo a lot of credit. He made a very good run and made a lay-up. Alex made a great play to find Torrey along the baseline. (to close overtime) The guys all need to step up and play. It can’t just be DeMar. And he knows it. He’s obviously great and he’ll have the ball in his hands, but I give him credit for trusting a lot of these guys.
“We can’t keep passing the ball to him,” Donovan admitted. “Someone has to step up and make a play and I was proud of the way the guys did that.”
Donovan said White’s injury was related to his hip, although Donovan said he was told nothing else. White sat in his locker across from DeRozan while DeRozan spoke with reporters. Teammates came to consult, console and advise White, who seemed upbeat and sometimes laughing. He declined to comment to the media, and Donovan said the Bulls won’t know much more until White is examined Thursday in Chicago before the game against the Clippers.
The Bulls shot 52% overall and DeRozan flummoxed the Pacers with 15 of 17 free throws.
“He’s the one reading the game and the defense, the shots, the key shots at key moments, the shot with two and a half seconds left to give us a chance to go to overtime was outstanding,” Donovan said . “The way we played (in the huge loss to) Dallas, I still feel good about how he’s going to come back and respond because he’s very competitive. He definitely made a lot of big shots all throughout the match.”
The Pacers didn’t do much, going 14 of 45 from three and once again a lot of layups and dunks beating Bulls defenders off the dribble. Even if this did not weaken the Bulls like against Dallas.
The Bulls led 30-28 after the first quarter, then with a 15-1 second quarter sparked by reserve TJ McConnell with Tyrese Haliburton mostly ineffective, the Pacers took a double-digit lead and 62- 58 at halftime. The Pacers had a 47-16 advantage on the bench. McConnell had 16. Myles Turner led Indiana with 27 and 5 of 8 threes.
Caruso’s season-high three-pointer kept the Bulls treading water and not drowning in the third quarter, then DeRozan got everyone back in the boat.
“I thought DeMar did an incredible job reading the defense (on the regulation end play),” Donovan said. “He kind of faked his way out of the high side and was able to get down to the corner and give himself some space. It’s just his IQ and his sense of the game, his understanding of how the defense plays him. DeMar is an incredible closer. Give him respect for that.
“However, all of this is analyzed in terms of luck or good fortune or whatever, but last year we were behind on a lot of them,” Donovan said. “In those moments, you can’t always control the ball going in, but you can control the shots you get, the way you execute. I feel like these guys were all on the same page and DeMar’s not the type of guy that’s like, ‘It’s me and no one else.’ Some things went our way (in a league where there are the most overtime games). We made some timely shots this year that allowed us to go to overtime. Certainly, whether DeMar’s shot is short or long, it’s a tough loss. But you have to be able to play in those moments.
As the truly great do; like DeMar DeRozan does.
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