Flirting with disaster has become commonplace for the Chicago Bulls. But on Monday night, the short-handed team almost took that flair for the dramatic too far.
For once the Bulls were in a favorable position — leading by 16 points over the Portland Trail Blazers deep in the third quarter. Finish off a win and the Bulls would climb back to one game below .500 with a prime opportunity to level their record against the Houston Rockets later this week.
But that would be too easy.
Instead the Bulls sank into a funk. They let the lead slip to single digits. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević coughed up a couple of turnovers. The Blazers quickly racked up nine unanswered points. And suddenly the Bulls were marching into the final five minutes with their lead cut to two points — then shaved to a tie, then flipped into a brief two-point deficit.
Experience ultimately won out. DeRozan earned a critical three-point play by drawing a foul on a jumper. Onuralp Bitim deflected a pass to force a turnover that led to two points. Alex Caruso slapped a game-winning attempt out of Anfernee Simons’ hands despite the risk of swiping at the ball while sitting on five fouls. And the Bulls escaped with a 110-107 win.
But the game highlighted the risk the Bulls keep creating by failing to cleanly put games away.
The Bulls have now played 184 minutes in the clutch over 39 games this season. That means 56.5% of their games have had with a margin of five or fewer points in the last five minutes. No other team in the league spends the majority of their finishes with this thin of a margin.
This trend has landed in the Bulls’ favor. They have won 24 of those 39 games, with only 10 of their wins coming by more than five points. But each time the Bulls stumble back into the clutch zone, it brings a wave of inevitable uncertainty — surely, this can’t be sustainable.
“It’s something that we’ve got to correct and get better at,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It happened in Indiana. Same thing happened the other night against Washington. We’ve got to look at those possessions in terms of guys understanding what are the things in games that change momentum.
“We had some plays that really changed momentum in the game. It was on both ends. It was a multitude of things, decisions that we’ve got to get better at and learn from.”
Here are four other takeaways from the game.
1. Ayo Dosunmu continued his scoring success.
With Coby White sidelined by a hip injury, the Bulls have desperately needed another player to step up. Dosunmu has eagerly delivered.
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He followed up a career-high 34-point game Saturday by logging 23 points and 10 rebounds in a crucial contribution to Monday’s win. It’s the first time in Dosunmu’s career he has recorded back-to-back games with 20 or more points. He has scored at least 20 in 11 games this season.
2. Alex Caruso played through injury — again.
Injury concerns are nothing new for Caruso, but Monday highlighted the importance of the guard’s ability to play through pain.
Caruso most recently landed on the injury report with a sore left toe but was cleared to play Monday. Early in the game, he landed awkwardly on Deandre Ayton’s foot and rolled his ankle. After he attempted to remain in the game, the injury forced him to burn a foul to be subbed out and head to the locker room, where he was taped up before returning to the court.
Caruso ultimately played 31 minutes, logging five points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals in addition to the game-saving block.
3. DeMar DeRozan’s minutes keep piling up.
Playing against the Blazers — who are second-to-last in the Western Conference with a 19-49 record — should have been close to a rest game for the Bulls. But landing in the clutch also added an extra burden for DeRozan, who played 40 minutes as he continues to lead the league in total minutes this season (2,527.1).
It’s unexpected for a team to rely so heavily on a 34-year-old veteran. But the Bulls lose momentum when DeRozan isn’t on the court, as highlighted by Monday’s lost lead.
Despite the toll, DeRozan continued to shrug off the impact of this volume.
“I really, really try to take great care of myself,” DeRozan said. “I try to rest. I don’t have no other hobbies that cause me to exert any energy. I love playing the game no matter how many minutes it is. I just love being out there.”
DeMar DeRozan leads the league in total minutes at age 34, but he remains sharp in the clutch.
He credits his performance through exhaustion to boxing and swimming in the offseason. pic.twitter.com/EglwJIFuP5
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) March 19, 2024
4. Andre Drummond exited with a chipped tooth.
The Bulls planned to close with a two-big rotation featuring Drummond and Vučević but were forced to change plans at the 2:28 mark when Drummond took a blow to the face. The center immediately stopped play and called for a timeout, grabbing at his face.
After the game, the team confirmed that Drummond had chipped a front tooth. Donovan was uncertain what treatment Drummond would require.