Rank among the supergiants
DeMar DeRozan has become a superstar in the league, at least in terms of performances this season. The Chicago Bulls, led by DeRozan, moved to second place in the East after a five-game winning streak. However, Ball and Caruso are still in the injury stage, but the team has added Tristan Thompson, which is undoubtedly a key reinforcement for the Bulls, who only have Vucevic on the inside. I believe that his arrival will certainly be able to elevate the team to a higher height.
In this game, the Bulls will face the Atlanta Hawks at home. Although the Hawks are only in tenth place in the East, they have won two straight before the All-Star and the team's form is picking up. Trae Young is still proving himself, and whether the Bulls can win this game depends on whether DeRozan can make up his mind at a critical moment.
DeRozan is a god of heaven
Without a surprise, DeRozan showed an unsolvable mid-range jumper in the first quarter, 7 of 10 from 10, 1 from 2 from three-point range, 6 of 8 from two-point range, and 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal in a single quarter, which was simply unstoppable. In the face of such DeRozan, the Eagles are naturally timid, scoring only 19 points in a single quarter, but unfortunately, the Bulls are only DeRozan alone, and the whole team has 24 points. After returning from the second quarter, DeRozan made just three shots, hit 2 goals, and had 6 points and 1 rebound.
DeRozan failed to continue to dominate the game, and the Hawks naturally did not miss this opportunity, Bogdanovic had 9 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Capela also had 8 points and 5 rebounds, and the team managed to chase 50-52 at the end of halftime, just two points behind the Bulls. In the second half, LaVine finally stood up, 12 points and 1 rebound on 4-of-8 shooting, leading the Bulls to 30 points, but the Eagles blossomed more, and then scored 32 points, successfully chasing 82-82 at the end of the third quarter.
The two teams returned to the same running line, and the first quarter was decided. After returning from the final quarter, the Hawks had the upper hand, and after Gallinari made two free throws, the lead came to three points, with less than a minute left. At the critical moment, DeRozan's free throw line withdrew and steadily hit, then the top of the arc opened up space, and the free throw line turned and jumped into a 2+1, helping the Bulls to rebound by 2 points, with only 15 seconds left. Bogdan missed three points, the Hawks could only foul, and Green killed the game with both free throws. In the end, the Chicago Bulls narrowly defeated the Atlanta Hawks 112-108 and won six consecutive games.
5-of-5 in the final quarter
Everyone knows that DeRozan is the king of the final quarter of the season, but it still did not occur to him that he would be able to score 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the final quarter and turn the victory around the game with 5 consecutive points at key moments. What is a superstar, that's it. In the whole game, DeRozan shot 15 of 21, 3 of 3 from three-point range, 5 of 7 from the free throw line, and got 37 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, scoring 35+ in 8 consecutive games, directly chasing Jordan's record of 35+ in 10 consecutive games. LaVine had 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, Vucevic had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Dawsum had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
After winning the game, the Chicago Bulls returned to the number one throne in the East. Although the Eagles lost the game, they forced out the strongest DeRozan, which was considered to be a defeat. Unfortunately, Trae Young did not feel good in this game, shooting 3 of 17, 5 of 0 three-pointers, only 14 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists. But Gallinari had 26 points and nine rebounds, Bogdanovic had 27 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Capela had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Other than that, no other player has scored in double figures.