DeMar DeRozan has been the king of the fourth quarter for most of the NBA season, leading the Chicago Bulls to the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The team will have ample time to rest up before their first-round matchup against the Bucks, and it’s clear they’ll need every bit of firepower possible for that series after the disappointing way they ended the regular season.
The good news is that this roster has enough offensive talent to give Milwaukee a scare, thanks to their top performer in 2021-2022.
DeRozan’s heroics throughout the season have lessened the blow of the Bulls’ late-season slip, as they started the second half of the season as the top seed in the east. While the month of March proved to be their worst of the year by far, DeRozan has put together the best resume in the fourth quarter of any other player in the league.
With a little reprieve for Bulls fans before the playoffs, let’s take a look at DeRozan’s top three fourth-quarter performances up to date.
DeMar DeRozan was a fourth quarter king for the Chicago Bulls.
3. First Game in Toronto as a Bull
The Raptors and DeRozan have a special bond that will never be broken … despite the team breaking off the relationship and then immediately winning a title. The organization has gone out of its way to honor DeRozan each time he returns to the city of Toronto. After all, he was the face of the Raptors and Canadian basketball during his nine-year tenure with the team before being traded away for Kawhi Leonard
In his first game against the Raptors as a Bull, the crowd offered a warm welcome. He got off to a very quick start, scoring 11 points in the first quarter. The game was tight for most of the contest, as the Bulls bench unit struggled to contain Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes.
DeRozan put on a cape in the fourth quarter and drained a series of mid-range jumpers and followed with the game-sealing free throws.
He finished with a game-high 26 points — 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. He even shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
This was a big moment for him because it occurred early in the season and against his former team.