Another day, another improbable clutch win from the cardiac Bulls.
On the night of Derrick Rose’s jersey retirement, the Chicago Bulls gave the fans that packed the United Center something to cheer about, beating the Boston Celtics 114-111, their fourth-straight win.
This time, the hero was Kevin Huerter, who drilled a corner three with 0.2 seconds remaining.
The Celtics were coming in on the second night of a back-to-back that went into double overtime in Brooklyn and the Bulls took advantage of a defense that was a step behind all night. The Bulls continued their hot shooting streak with another electric performance from deep, 21-for-45. In their four-consecutive wins, they are shooting 83-of-177, 46.9 percent.
Coby White was the offensive engine. He erupted for 13 third-quarter points en route to an 22-point night. The lingering calf tightness has challenged White’s ability to get into a rhythm all season, but he’s heating up of late, with four-straight games above 20 points, all wins for Chicago.
Josh Giddey was back off the bench in his second game back from the hamstring injury. Limited to 24 minutes, he struggled scoring, making his first basket with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Still, he nearly managed a double-double with eight rebounds and 10 assists.
The Bulls (23-22) are now winners of four-straight. They are above-0.500 for the first time since they were 9-8 on November 24.
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Up next: On Monday night, the Bulls host the Los Angeles Lakers. It will be the two teams’ first matchup since last season when Josh Giddey’s miracle heave set the court on fire.
The Lakers (26-17) are sixth in the West standings, but under the hood, their numbers reflect more of a paper tiger than a true contender, despite their three-headed monster of star-power. Based on their -0.5 point differential, the Lakers are overperforming by 5.1 wins, the most in the NBA. They are 13-2 in clutch games with a +18.5 net rating that seems to be carrying them.
The Lakers are struggling on the defensive end this season, ranking 23rd and giving up nearly a full point per 100 possessions more than the Bulls. Chicago should be able to run them off the court if they can stay consistent with their pace and identity, as they have over the last handful of games.
Just as the Bulls near full health, they get another piece of disappointing injury news: Tre Jones sustained a left hamstring strain and will be out for at least two weeks before being re-evaluated, potentially holding him out until All-Star Break.
“They’ll start to do things with him just to see where he’s at,” Billy Donovan said. “But clearly, if it’s something that’s going to be a little bit of a problem, I don’t think there’d be any question that we would hold him (until All Star). But there is some hope and optimism that after this two weeks that he may be able to get a few games in prior to the to the All Star Break.”
Jones has been a godsend for the Bulls this season, stepping in admirably as a starter through an injury riddled season, and dominating as a third guard with the bench unit. Through guile, craft and basketball IQ and an unrelenting competitiveness, he embodies everything the Bulls want in their players.
His production cannot be denied: 12.4 points, three rebounds and 5.8 assists per game with a career-high 64.8 true shooting percentage and the sixth-best assist:turnover ratio in the NBA. But it’s the trust he has garnered from Donovan is the true testament to his impact: “Tre has been a steadfast, reliable guy, and he’s played really, really well.”
Without him, the Bulls will lean on their guard depth of Giddey, White and Ayo Dosunmu, but the stability and spark Jones provides will be sorely missed.
Nice to see another strong shooting night from White, hitting at least 5 threes for the third time in his last four games. He also had some nice playmaking dimes. I’ve never felt stronger than I do now that the writing is on the wall for the Bulls to trade him before this February 5 deadline, given all the circumstances. I’ll be sorry to see him go, if that does happen. The dude has given a lot to this Bulls team from the day they drafted him. Respect.
That behind-the-back drive and two-hand slam from Matas Buzelis in the first quarter? Yes. More. More of that. He almost outdid himself with another attempt in the second quarter, but came up short as the ball careened off the front rim. I will never be mad at Buzelis for not quite pulling off a ridiculous dunk from a zillion miles away. Keep going for it, young fella. He also knocked down some threes and kept the ball moving for some impressive assists. Love it.
The Nikola Vucevic-Jalen Smith two-man game! A revelation. Those two had some really nice plays together on another night that Donovan leaned into the double-big starting lineup. Again, very curious to see what happens when Giddey retakes his place among the starters.
…Happy for Rose. Happy for all the Bulls fans who were in the building to enjoy that moment, or even enjoyed watching it from all over the world. Earned moment for him. And credit to the Bulls for going all-out with the preparation and execution. Unlike the Ring of Honor ceremonies, this didn’t feel as slimy of a poorly-executed money grab. …I still think it was a money grab. But that’s just me.
I was glad to be at his first retirement night. Two seemed unnecessary. Meanwhile, the Bulls haven’t won a playoff series since Rose led them to the conference semis in…2015.
A decade of zero playoff runs. So forgive me for focusing on that while trying to enjoy the nostalgia from our office’s lounge instead of at the UC. I need brighter days ahead – based on a realistic plan – and legitimate contention more than I need an MVP Burger.
Fan how you wanna fan. Love y’all.
Man. What a night.
I was swept up in Bulls fever and I stayed there for the whole game. The stadium was packed. Fans were excited. Nostalgia was the flavor of the night. And Rose was serving it up. It was amazing.
Watching the tarp being pulled off that banner made me think of the Bulls championships I saw. Watching those go up was special. This felt just as nice. Not the same, but awesome nonetheless.
The love for Rose was felt all throughout that building. You could tell how much he means to people here in the city and all over the globe. Fans with D Rose tattoos, shirts, hats, etc. Everyone came out to show love.
BIG shout out to the diehard fans that hung out with us in the suite tonight. I LOVE meeting all the people that watch and listen to the show. I’m always dumbfounded by the Love and respect and eternally grateful for it all. Peace to Clem, Paul, Adam, Francisco, Ricky, Kimberly, JR from GR, Trent, Conor and everyone else who I saw, showed Love and laughed with. Thank You.
I love Rose. Not just for what he meant to the team and my Bulls fandom and sanity, but what he meant to the city in general. The symbol of hope he represented. I can’t thank him enough for what that meant to Bulls fans and people from the city. He deserves this night and much more.
Thank you for everything.
— Big Dave
