On the evening/night of Jan. 1, interim head coach Chris Fleming and the Chicago Bulls battled it out with head coach Wes Unseld Jr. and the Washington Wizards looking to start off the 2022 calendar year on the right foot. And this really was a close one between two playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference on this night.
The Bulls had to deal with playing five games in seven days to round out this difficult week on the regular season schedule. This meeting with the Wizards came on the back end of back-to-back games on New Year’s Day 2022. On New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), the Bulls downed the division foe Indiana Pacers on the road at GainBridge Fieldhouse thanks to clutch game-winning buzzer-beater from star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan.
This was yet another game that came right down to the wire for the Bulls. And it was the heroics for the second consecutive night from DeRozan that got them this huge win over the Wizards to move the winning streak to an impressive seven games. The final score in this one went in favor of the Bulls 120-119.
Chicago Bulls beat the Wizards on another clutch buzzer-beater from DeMar DeRozan
Let’s just take some time to soak in how clutch the four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection DeRozan was in the last few games for the Bulls. And his clutch gene just, in general, this season has really shown through.
All in all, this win over the Wizards makes it two-dozen on the season for the Bulls. And it continues to prove the point that DeRozan should be a dark horse MVP candidate and that you can never count this team out.
Here’s a look into two takeaways after DeRozan comes through in the clutch to get the Bulls the insane one-point win over the Wizards on Jan. 1.
Takeaways from Chicago Bulls win over Wizards: Zach LaVine and Coby White playing like a special duo
While it’s hard not to just talk about the magic that DeRozan is coming up with late in games for the Bulls of late, we have to mention how good the duo of third-year point guard Coby White and star shooting guard Zach LaVine is during this winning streak. Coby is on fire lately after returning from his stint in the league’s health and safety protocol.
Coby came up with an impressive 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and he was perfect on two attempts from the free-throw line. He also registered two rebounds, five assists, one steal, no blocks, and four turnovers. And the fact that White came up with just one steal doesn’t really do his defensive efforts justice in this game.
This was definitely one of the best defensive outings of the season so far for White. It goes without saying that the two-way efforts of Coby of late are doing more than enough to help the Bulls through this time where the usual starting point guard, Lonzo Ball, is absent due to the health and safety protocol.
Moreover, LaVine was also special in this game for the Bulls. He came up with a game-high 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field, 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, and he was perfect on six attempts from the free-throw line. LaVine also registered four rebounds, three assists, no steals, no blocks, and four turnovers.
While LaVine did cool off a little bit down the stretch, he was still the driving force for the Bulls on offense for most of this game.
Takeaways from Chicago Bulls win over Wizards: DeMar DeRozan can do no wrong in clutch time
There are actually some scary similarities from the stat lines for DeRozan in each of the last two nights. In the win over the Pacers on Dec .31 on DeRozan’s game-winning three-pointer, he registered 28 points and hit just one attempt from beyond the arc. In this win over the Wizards, he registered 28 points and hit just one attempt from beyond the arc.
Both of the three-pointers he made in the last two games were about as clutch as it possibly gets. In fact, DeRozan has just two attempts from beyond the arc in clutch time now. His first of the season came in the win over the Pacers. And his second was the game-winner in this triumph over the Wizards this weekend.
For most of this game, it definitely wasn’t DeRozan’s best night. He had some uncharacteristic struggles from the free-throw line most of the way, including missing three of his first eight attempts from the line. But he picked back up late to still come through with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field. He could just do no wrong in the dying minutes of this game, though.
It is now worth mentioning that DeRozan is now shooting better than 56 percent from the field in clutch time. The Bulls definitely have two go-to options when it comes down to clutch time in LaVine and DeRozan. But it’s hard to imagine Fleming and/or second-year head coach Billy Donovan wanting to give the ball to anyone other than DeRozan at this point in clutch possessions.