Studs for the Chicago Bulls in the win over the Cavs: Ayo Dosunmu
While he wasn’t the biggest stat sheet stuffer in this game for the Bulls, the rookie former Illinois Fighting Illini star junior point guard Ayo Dosunmu came through when it mattered most for this team. Dosunmu came through in the clutch for the Bulls, scoring the final four points of the game to get the one-point win over the Cavs.
The first clutch basket that Dosunmu got for the Bulls in this preseason win over the Cavs came on a driving lay-up with around 40 seconds left in the game. That put the Bulls up 100-99 at the time. And then, Dosunmu helped the Bulls get a more comfortable lead with a little less than 14 seconds to go, with a mid-range jump-shot that dropped for two points.
The former Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall did make a two-pointer for the Cavs in the dying seconds of the game. But it wasn’t enough to get the Cavs evened up with the Bulls. That gave the Bulls the narrow win in the end 102-101.
In this game, Dosunmu registered nine points, one rebound, no assists, no steals, no blocks, and one turnover. And he shot an efficient 4-of-7 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and didn’t have any attempts from the charity stripe.
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1447394267387867137
Dosunmu was extremely clutch for the Bulls in this win, and it is starting to form a trend that is noteworthy. Dosunmu played some of his best basketball for the Bulls in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League in the second half. All of Dosunmu’s points came in the fourth quarter of this game. And that is obviously due to the fact that nearly all of his playing time came in the fourth.
That would still indicate that Donovan has the confidence that Dosunmu could show some clutch tendencies for this team.
All in all, the Bulls likely aren’t going to turn to someone like Dosunmu during his rookie season in clutch time. But it’s good to let Dosunmu get this type of game exposure during his rookie season when he might not be able to otherwise during the regular season.