A big night for the Chicago Bulls‘ second-round pick from the 2021 NBA Draft and breakout rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu on the night of Jan. 15, unfortunately, didn’t yield the desired result for this team in the end. Dosunmu put together an excellent performance for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls against the Boston Celtics on the road in the back end of back-to-back games on Jan. 15.
Dosunmu and the Bulls fell short at the hands of head coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics on the road at the TD Garden on Jan. 15 by the close final score of 114-112. The Celtics would go on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the game, led by some clutch free-throws from standout big man Robert Williams, to get the two-point win over the Bulls.
But it wasn’t due to a lack of trying from Dosunmu that the Bulls fell short to the Celtics this weekend. Dosunmu just had an insane performance in just his third career start for the Bulls in this meeting with Boston.
Dosunmu came up with his first career double-double in this game on some excellent percentages shooting from the field and beyond the arc. He registered career bests in points (21) and assists (10) while shooting a stellar 9-of-10 from the field, a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and he didn’t have any attempts from the free-throw line.
A historic night for Ayo Dosunmu still can’t lift the Chicago Bulls over the Celtics
He also gave the Bulls four rebounds, no steals, no blocks, and just one turnover. That is pretty insane that Dosunmu gave the Bulls a 21 and 10 double-double with just a single turnover.
Ayo Dosunmu just became the first rookie in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 10 assists in a game while shooting at least 90 FG% and 70 3P%. pic.twitter.com/3TAyrq9Mzo
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) January 16, 2022
What made this performance truly historic for Dosunmu was how efficient he was while posting a double-double in points and assists. History proves that rookies just don’t have this performance really ever.
Dosunmu just became the first rookie in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 10 assists in a game while shooting at least 90 percent from the field and 70 percent from beyond the arc.
What’s even more impressive about this feat for Dosunmu was the fashion in which he got it done. He shot 100 percent from beyond the arc on three attempts, which makes this performance even more unique. And he did all of this in a spot where the Bulls were extremely short-handed due to a variety of health/injury issues.
The Bulls were absent star shooting guard Zach LaVine, point guard Lonzo Ball, shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, point guard Alex Caruso, forward Derrick Jones Jr., among others in this matchup against the Celtics.
Following this close loss to the Celtics on Jan. 15, the Bulls are now sitting on a three-game losing streak. As we hit the halfway mark of the regular season, the Bulls still are on pace for 54 wins which is a nice pace to be on.