© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
DeMar DeRozan comes to the rescue once again as the Chicago Bulls defeat the Golden State Warriors
DeMar DeRozan converted a tough and-one to put the Chicago Bulls ahead for good, as they came away with a hard-earned 125-122 victory over the Golden State at the Chase Center on Thursday night.
It was the Bulls’ third straight win on this four-game road trip, which concludes with a match against the formidable Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The victory also allowed Chicago to inch closer to the .500 mark, as they now have a 31-32 record with 19 games to go on their regular season schedule.
Clutch shot by Deebo
Down by one, 119-118, after the Warriors’ Klay Thompson canned a three-pointer off a nifty after-timeout play, Deebo answered right back, making a midrange jumper from the right wing as he was fouled by Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. DeRozan made the bonus free throw to push Chicago in front, 121-119, with 26 seconds to go.
Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski had a chance to tie the game up as he got all the way to the rim but flubbed the open layup. Nikola Vucevic—sensational with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists—converted two from the line to raise the Bulls’ lead to four, 123-119.
The Warriors refused to give up as Chris Paul pulled them closer, 123-122, with a triple with 4.1 seconds remaining, but Deebo made it a three-point game by making two free throws. With no more timeouts, Golden State guard Lester Quinones was forced to heave up a desperation three-pointer from halfcourt that went awry.
Curry sprained his ankle
While the Bulls relished the thrilling win, the Warriors were dealt a major blow. Stephen Curry sprained his ankle with 3:51 left in the fourth and headed straight to the locker room. After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not have an update regarding his star guard other than saying his foot was in a bucket of ice. However, Kerr pointed out how DeRozan’s miracle jumper turned the tables around on the Warriors.
“DeMar made the and-one, I thought that was the key shot in the closing few minutes,” Kerr said.
“DeMar is one of the great closers in the game and he has been for 10 years."
