Chicago Bulls: DeRozan shatters a Jordan record in win over Knicks

On the night of Nov. 21, the Chicago Bulls moved their winning streak to two games by knocking off head coach Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks at home at the United Center. Yet again, a driving force for the Bulls to beat a postseason contender early this season was the play of star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan.

In this win over the Knicks, DeRozan posted his sixth game of the season with at least 30 points. He registered a team-high 31 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, no blocks, and three turnovers. And DeRozan shot 10-of-20 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Going perfect on two attempts from beyond the arc and on nine attempts from the charity stripe proved to be yet another special performance for DeRozan. And it led to another huge scoring night for DeRozan that helped the Bulls get to a dozen wins on the season.

In the six games where DeRozan has scored at least 30, the Bulls now own a record of 5-1. It’s clear the value that DeRozan has brought to the table for the Bulls out of the gates this season.

And his red-hot scoring production in the first 16 games of the regular season has proved to be historic for DeRozan with the Bulls.

DeMar DeRozan’s hot start to the season has shattered a Chicago Bulls scoring record from Michael Jordan

In DeRozan’s first 16 games with the Bulls, he registered a whopping 425 total points. That was good to one-up legendary shooting guard Michael Jordan for the most in the first 16 games for any player in Bulls franchise history.

Jordan registered 424 total points in the first 16 games he played with the Bulls way back during the 1984-85 campaign. You could stretch that record even further for DeRozan to start off a run with the Bulls following the Nov. 21 win over the Knicks. DeRozan’s 31 points in the win over the Knicks pushed him to 456 total points in his first 17 games with the Bulls.

Meanwhile, Jordan registered 446 total points in his first 17 games with the Bulls during the 1984-85 season (also his rookie campaign).

It’s hard to overstate the impact that DeRozan brought to the table for the Bulls out of the gates this season. Being able to outscore Jordan at the outset of a run with the Bulls is something truly special and shows just how good DeRozan was for this team so far.

DeRozan is now averaging nearly 27 points per game through his first 17 games with the Bulls this season, good for fourth in the NBA. And with his huge night in the win over the Knicks to round out the weekend, DeRozan helped push the Bulls to a record of 12-5 on the season.