© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Billy Donovan on DeMar DeRozan's incredible corner jumper that forced overtime vs. the Indiana Pacers
With two seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Chicago Bulls down by two, 117-115, everybody in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse knew where the ball was going. With Bulls guard Coby White exiting the game due to a hip injury late in the fourth and DeRozan already scoring the bulk of the team’s points, it was clear that he would be taking the final shot.
As DeRozan received the inbounds pass at the baseline, he immediately rose up and shot an awkward-looking jumper over Pacers guard TJ McConnell. The jumper found nothing but the bottom of the net to tie the game and send it to overtime.
After the game, Bulls coach Billy Donovan marveled at his star player’s savvy decision-making in that crucial moment.
Read the defense perfectly
As the Bulls lined up for their possession, the Pacers had an inkling where DeRozan was going and denied him his spot at the top of the arc. But DeRozan saw this coming and instead positioned himself at the baseline, where he could receive the pass and quickly shoot before the defense could close in.
“I give the guys a lot of credit in that situation. They had a foul to give. They took it. We had a play on. And those guys know there are things we can go to when we're out of timeouts and a team has a foul to give. And we went to it,” Donovan said.
“And I thought DeMar did an unbelievable job reading the defense. He kind of faked coming off the high side and was able to get down to the corner and give himself some space. It's just his IQ and feel for the game.”
Broke the play off
DeRozan admitted where he went wasn’t where he was supposed to go.
“I actually broke the play off,” DeRozan said.
“The play was for me to come over top. But teams do a great job scouting and understanding what we're going to run. As soon as they checked the ball in, I just found an opening honestly.”
