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Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
SACRAMENTO, California — The Chicago Bulls opened a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams with a 113-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Monday night.
“This is big,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We have to keep this momentum going into the next game.”
Here are 10 observations:
—The Bulls rallied from a 22-point deficit in the third quarter, finishing the game on a 9-1 run after Domantas Sabonis fouled out.
“This group keeps fighting,” coach Billy Donovan said.
The Bulls have achieved three comebacks of at least 21 points this season.
“I just think about the character of the guys in this room,” Coby White said when asked about the team’s resilience. “For me, I’ve been here five years. I’ve been playing with some of these guys. But I just got to know their background, where they come from, their journeys, their stories, how they’re able to fight through adversity. Just in life. The basketball court is easy. But the things that a lot of these guys went through in their lives and how they fought to overcome it and how every challenge that was presented to them they seemed to overcome it and get through that wall. The character of this room creates the resilience of this basketball team.
—White scored a career-high 37 points, posting his first 30-point game since Feb. 14. He was 14 of 19 after not attempting a shot in the first quarter. White also had seven assists in a strong, all-around game. It’s White’s seventh 30-point game this season, matching his total from his first four seasons combined.
“I was just trying to let the game come to me,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) really had it in that first quarter. He was very aggressive going downhill, catching and shooting. So I was just trying to play with him, let him do his thing. And then when my opportunities came, I wanted to take advantage of it. “I wasn’t trying to force anything.”
White’s previous career high of 36 points also came here in January 2021.
“But I also didn’t have any turnovers (that night) and (Monday) I had three,” White said, opening a window into his winning mentality.
—Likewise, DeMar DeRozan only attempted one shot in the entire first half before taking control late to try to spark a comeback victory. He scored 19 of his 33 points in the quarter, finishing 10 of 12 from the field and 11 of 12 from the line.
“It’s just a feeling,” DeRozan said. “A lot of times it’s just me, physically or mentally, trying to gather data on how we’re being played or trying to get guys going. Or sometimes I’m just letting loose and going. In some games I feel it right away and in other games. I need to relax. It’s just me knowing myself. I knew at one point I was going to put it into action.”
White made sure to spread the credit beyond himself and DeRozan.
“It was a team effort,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) played very well. AC (Alex Caruso) had four steals. Julian (Phillips) came in, gave us some important minutes, had a great charge, got to the free throw line after a great moment. “Cut who got us a tray. Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) with a late tip-in that gave AC an offensive rebound. Drum (Andre Drummond), the way he was guarding was incredible, making all the guards go down. JC (Jevon Carter) too.
“So I don’t really look at it as, ‘Oh, man, Deebo and I are doing this and that.’ I look at it as we got a good, solid team win. And I’m proud of our team.”
—The Bulls’ defense, which allowed two quarters of 35 or more points, let them down when they gave up 24 second-chance points. The feeling of going uphill permeated the entire game. Seemingly every time the Bulls erased a significant deficit, they gave up an offensive rebound and deflated second-chance points. But Sabonis’ fouls seemed to energize the defense, which made some big late stops.
Sabonis missed his first six shots and didn’t score until 3:40 of the second, but finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds to extend his double-double streak to 43 games. But Sabonis, who leads the NBA with 56 double-doubles, fouled out with 2:57 left.
—For the third game in a row, Nikola Vucevic showed great frustration. He threw a towel at the bench as he walked off the court during a third-quarter timeout, minutes after being called for two fouls, including a transition foul. This came after he was ejected for a flagrant foul against Milwaukee and after Vucevic also hit the bench with a towel in frustration several times after fouling out in the double-overtime win against Cleveland.
—The Bulls continued to display the up-and-down nature that has defined their season. They allowed a 17-1 run to close the first quarter, failed to make a field goal in the final 3:52 and finished the quarter with eight field goals and six turnovers. Alex Caruso missed all seven shots in the first quarter, including five 3-pointers. But then they opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run, including seven quick points from White, who hit his first three shots that included a dunk over Harrison Barnes.
—The Bulls extended the run to 22-5 as the second quarter progressed, erasing a 14-point deficit to take the lead. Caruso was everywhere on defense, recording three steals in this span. White scored 13 in the period. But the Kings closed the second on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead into halftime. DeRozan only made one shot in the first half.
—De’Aaron Fox returned from missing two games with a knee contusion to finish with 20 points and 10 assists. Ayo Dosunmu took the lion’s share of the matchup, which is always difficult. That didn’t stop Dosunmu from scoring seven of the Bulls’ first nine points without a miss and finishing with 20 points.
—Julian Phillips served as sixth man in what has become a revolving door role for the Bulls. Terry Taylor, Onuralp Bitim and Phillips have filled that role of late. Phillips finished with six points and a rebound while the Bulls bench contributed very little. Phillips had a good fourth quarter, scoring all of his points.
—In fact, Donovan, in an attempt to thwart a high-powered offense based largely on perimeter scoring, mostly came up short against the Kings. Phillips, Bitim and even Jevon Carter, in a rare period in the first quarter, entered before Andre Drummond. And the double lineup of Drummond and Vucevic never appeared. Donovan used four guards or wings around one of the big men at all times.
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