Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Chicago Bulls opened a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams with a 113-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Monday night.
“It’s huge,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We need to continue this momentum in the next game.”
Here are 10 observations:
—The Bulls rallied from a 22-point deficit in the third quarter, finishing the game 9-1 after Domantas Sabonis fouled out.
“This group continues to fight,” coach Billy Donovan said.
The Bulls have now completed three comebacks of at least 21 points this season.
“I just think about the character of the guys in this room,” Coby White said when asked about the team’s resiliency. “For me, I’ve been here five years. Some of these guys I’ve played with. But just getting to know their backgrounds, where they’re from, their journeys, their stories, how they’re able to fight in adversity.”Just in life. The basketball court is easy. But the things that a lot of these guys went through in their lives and how they fought to overcome them and how every challenge that came their way, they seemed to overcome them and break through that wall. The character of this play creates the resilience of this basketball team.
—White scored a career-high 37 points, marking his first 30-point game since February 14. He shot 14 of 19 after not attempting a shot in the first quarter. White also had seven assists in a solid overall game. It was White’s seventh 30-point game this season, matching his total from his first four seasons combined.
“I was just trying to let the game come to me,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) really had some punch in that first quarter. He was really aggressive on the downs, the catch-and-shoots. So I was just trying to play against him, let him do his thing. And then When my opportunities presented themselves, I wanted to take advantage of them. I wasn’t trying to force anything.
White’s previous career high of 36 points was also achieved here in January 2021.
“But I also had no turnovers (that night) and (Monday) I had three,” White said, providing a window into his winning mindset.
—Similarly, DeMar DeRozan only attempted one shot in the entire first half before taking over late to try to fuel a comeback victory. He scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth, finishing 10 of 12 from the field and 11 of 12 from the line.
“It’s just a feeling,” DeRozan said. “A lot of times it’s just me physically or mentally trying to collect data on how they’re playing us or trying to get guys going. Or sometimes it’s just chilling out and going. Some matches, I feel it right away and some games I have to take it easy. It’s just that I know myself. I knew at one point that I was going to go there.
White made sure to spread the credit beyond just him and DeRozan.
“It was a team effort,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) played really big. AC (Alex Caruso) had four steals. Julian (Phillips) came in, gave us big minutes, had a big charge, got to the free throw line after a big time.” Cut which earned us a lay-up. Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) with a late tip-in that gave AC an offensive rebound. Drum (Andre Drummond) the way he screened was incredible, bringing all the guards down. JC (Jevon Carter) too.
“So I don’t really look at it as, ‘Oh, man, Deebo and I are doing this and that.’ I consider it a good, solid team victory, and I’m proud of our team.
—The Bulls’ defense, which allowed two quarters of 35 or more points, let them down when they gave up 24 second-chance points. The feeling of buildup permeated the entire game. Seemingly every time the Bulls erased a significant deficit, they allowed an offensive rebound and deflated second-chance points. But Sabonis’ foul seemed to energize the defense, which made some huge stops late.
Sabonis missed his first six shots and didn’t score until 3:40 of the second, but finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds to extend his double-double streak to 43 games. But Sabonis, who leads the NBA with 56 double-doubles, fouled out with 2:57 remaining.
—For the third consecutive match, Nikola Vucevic showed great frustration. He threw a towel on the bench as he left the court during a third-quarter timeout, minutes after being whistled for two fouls, including a transition foul. This happened after he was ejected for a flagrant foul against Milwaukee and after Vucevic also slammed the bench in frustration with a towel multiple times after fouling out in the double overtime win against Cleveland.
—The Bulls continued to display the up-and-down nature that has defined their season. They surrendered a 17-1 run to close the first quarter, failing to score a field goal in the final 3:52 and finished the quarter with eight field goals and six turnovers. Alex Caruso missed all seven shots in the first quarter, including five 3-pointers. But then they opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run, including seven quick points from White, who made his first three shots, including a dunk over Harrison Barnes.
—The Bulls extended the streak to 22-5 as the second quarter wore on, erasing a 14-point deficit to take the lead. Caruso was everywhere defensively, throwing three interceptions in that span. White scored 13 during the period. But the Kings closed the second with an 8-0 run to take a seven-point halftime lead. DeRozan only took one shot in the first half.
—De’Aaron Fox returned after missing two games with a knee contusion to finish with 20 points and 10 assists. Ayo Dosunmu took the lion’s share in this match, which is always difficult. That didn’t stop Dosunmu from scoring seven of the Bulls’ first nine points without missing and finishing with 20 points.
—Julian Phillips served as the sixth man in what has become a revolving door role for the Bulls. Terry Taylor, Onuralp Bitim and Phillips have all held this position in recent times. Phillips finished with six points and a rebound while the Bulls bench provided very little. Phillips had a good fourth quarter, scoring all of his points.
—In fact, Donovan, in an attempt to thwart a high-powered offense based largely on perimeter scoring, played small mostly against the Kings. Phillips, Bitim and even Jevon Carter, in a rare first-quarter stint, went in before Andre Drummond. And the double formation composed of Drummond and Vucevic never appeared. Donovan used four guards or wings around one of the big men at all times.
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