The Chicago Bulls‘ five-time All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan is on an absolute tear of late. In the Bulls’ close four-point win over head coach Nate McMillan and the stingy Atlanta Hawks at home at the United Center on the night of Feb. 24, DeRozan kept a streak alive that continues to make NBA history.
With his game-high 37 points on an efficient 15-of-21 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line, DeRozan kept a special streak going. DeRozan now has a streak of eight consecutive games where he’s registered at least 35 points on 50 percent shooting from the field or better.
DeRozan already made NBA history by putting together a streak of seven consecutive games meeting those criteria. The fact that he’s still doing that coming out of the All-Star Break is a true testament to just how much he matters to the Bulls through 60 games this season.
Chicago Bulls’ five-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan tops Dwight Howard in career points
There was something else that DeRozan did with the 37 points he scored in this win over the Hawks, though. DeRozan is now sitting at 19,335 points for his career after the Bulls’ Feb. 24 win over the Hawks. That was good enough for DeRozan to pass the eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard for 57th in NBA history in total points.
Howard is sitting with 19,329 points.
DeRozan is also very well within reach of the former Bulls point guard Jamal Crawford for 56th in NBA history in career points. Crawford sits with 19,419 career points.
The next closest active player for DeRozan in terms of career points is the Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Stephen Curry, with 19,845. But it’s hard to imagine DeRozan passing up Curry anytime soon, barring any major injury issues for Golden State’s MVP contender.
DeRozan is well on his way to setting a career-high in total points in one season. He’s already leading the NBA in total points this season, with 1,584. DeRozan is almost 100 total points in front of the Hawks star point guard Trae Young for the league lead this season.
The Bulls just won their sixth-straight game coming out of the All-Star Break after topping the Hawks by the final score of 112-108 on Feb. 24. Next up for DeRozan and the Bulls is a meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies at home at the United Center on Feb. 26.