The Chicago Bulls returned to the court on Sunday night with a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers after the NBA had postponed two of their games.
It was the first time that the Bulls were playing since December 11th as they had two games during the week, Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons and Thursday against the Toronto Raptors, postponed because they did not have enough players to play.
Chicago has been ravaged by COVID-19 in recent weeks, as players entered the league’s health and safety protocols at an alarming rate. The Bulls had as many as 10 players in protocols at once, prompting the league to postpone games as they could not field a team of eight healthy players.
With some players being cleared in time for Sunday, the Bulls were able to host the Lakers. One of the players who were able to return was DeMar DeRozan, who picked right back up where he left off.
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Prior to Sunday, the last time that DeRozan had played was December 4th against the Brooklyn Nets. He ended up missing three games and being away from the team for more than two weeks, but you’d have never known it with how well he played.
Following being cleared from protocols by the league, DeRozan got right to work. He was at the Bulls’ facility at 1 a.m. getting shots up in preparation for the game later that night.
Motivated by playing against his hometown Lakers, who he thought he would be playing for this season, DeRozan showed them what they are missing, again. DeRozan scored a season-high-tying 38 points on Sunday night. That season-high mark was set in the first matchup with the purple and gold.
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Los Angeles could not slow down DeRozan, especially in the fourth quarter. To be trusted by the team late in games is something that DeRozan does not take lightly.
“It’s an honor to be trusted in those moments,” he said. “I never take it for granted. It’s an adrenaline rush that you can’t duplicate, so you try to make the most of it every time you’re put in that position. There’s nothing like it. You’ve got to take the good with the bad, and I’m willing to take both.”
DeRozan knocked down a patented 20-footer with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Bulls a one-point lead. He missed a shot on the next possession, but Lonzo Ball, in a revenge game of sorts for himself as well, grabbed the offensive rebound and got the ball back to DeRozan.
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He would sink both free throws to push the lead to three and help seal the game for Chicago. That put the cap on a masterful fourth-quarter performance from the Compton native in which he scored 19 of his 38 points.
DeMar DeRozan missed only three shots in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers had no answer for him. On the night, DeRozan shot 16-of-17 from the foul line, adding six assists, four rebounds and one steal in 34 minutes.
