Natalia Chi
This was DeMar DeRozan’s skipping gait, with a scowl on his face.
With 1:27 left in Friday’s second overtime game against Minnesota, the veteran hit a tough 13-footer to extend the lead to five.
He couldn’t help but show his emotions.
Finally, there was room for a breather in a season that the Bulls and DeRozan felt stifled all too often.
Thanks to DeRozan’s game-high 49 points, the Bulls (32-37) beat the Timberwolves 139-131, keeping their Eastern Conference play-in hopes alive and regaining 10.th Last spot from idle Indiana.
It wasn’t easy. It looks like you’re not very active in this group.
Perhaps the news of Lonzo Ball 24 hours ago was a gut punch. The team announced that Ball will be heading for his third knee surgery in 14 months, leaving him in doubt next season.
Or maybe that’s the hallmark of this team. A collection of inconsistent players displaying a series of inconsistent moments.
Exactly what Billy Donovan hoped he could avoid with 13 games left in the regular season.
What he wasn’t going to do was think about what could have been done, and he didn’t want players to do the same.
“You never expect [Ball’s injury]especially the way we got off last year and the way we played when we were healthy and in good shape overall, and it’s a shame the group didn’t get to see themselves through the entire season,” Donovan said. “That’s no excuse. In my opinion there are enough in the locker room to get out there and still do a good job. We didn’t get the results we wanted.” ”
But Friday had to win.
With everything in this team at stake, Anthony Edwards and his right ankle kicked off the hinge in case the door wasn’t open enough.
With 3:55 left in the first, when the Timberwolves trailed by five, Edwards made a wrong move, his ankle still and he immediately fell to the court in obvious pain. Several teammates had to help carry him to the locker room, setting aside the best player on the floor for either team.
Rather than jumping at the opportunity to capitalize on Minnesota’s loss, it was a lethargic play by the Bulls that allowed the visiting team to extend their lead to 13 at some point in the second quarter.
Thanks to some Zach LaVine Hero Balls just before the half, the two-time All-Star did everything he could to annoy the organization that once drafted him. A book free throw, a 27-footer with 38 seconds left, and a ridiculous 3 free throws with 2 seconds left included sent the Bulls to the halftime locker room by 5 points.
The life it took for a team that barely showed.
The good news is that there was a carryover.
The Bulls looked like a different team early in the third set, finally gaining momentum and taking the lead when DeRozan reached the third corner with 7:05 remaining.
But these are the 2022-23 Bulls. A team where the lead is just a chance to corner the opposing team.
That’s exactly what Minnesota did, closing out the third quarter with a 10-2 run and a 10-point lead.
As early in the third set, the Bulls decided to hit the gas again, outscoring the Timberwolves 33-22 in that final stanza to send the game into overtime.
Not the best place to venture out considering the Bulls were 1-4 in overtime for the season, but perhaps they deserved it.
After Timberwolves’ Jayden McDaniels missed the winning 3-pointer, the Bulls attempted a prayer at the rim with 0.2 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime for the second time. That’s when they finally dominated, as LaVine finished with 39.
“We pulled it out, but we needed it at this point in the season,” LaVine said.
LaVine could also be happy with his combined 88 points with DeRozan, setting a new Bulls record by a duo.
“We finished it earlier,” says LaVine. “Two guys get along like that? Pick your poison.”
