Chicago Bulls find themselves on the wrong side of the NBA Two Minute Report once again
The Chicago Bulls have had their struggles in the clutch this season. Clutch periods are defined as any game within five points during the last two minutes of regulation. The Bulls have one of the worst records in the league when it comes to such games, winning just nine out of 26. To be fair, they've also had terrible luck with regard to late-game calls, and Wednesday's Last Two Minute Report of the game between the Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers added insult to injury.
DeRozan got fouled
With the Bulls trailing by one, 104-103, Chicago's ace DeMar DeRozan had Clippers guard Reggie Jackson in isolation on the left side of the floor. As he spun his way to the basket, DeRozan stumbled and lost the ball, which the Clippers retrieved. After the game—which the Bulls lost 108-103—DeRozan was adamant he got fouled on that crucial play.
“I got fouled. What went wrong is they didn’t call it. Simple as that. It’s frustrating being in that situation,” DeRozan said.
“I didn’t want to settle for a jumpshot. As soon as I spun, his arm was reaching in, and I couldn’t fully spin. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Try to be aggressive. Try to get downhill. Clearly, it was a foul," DeRozan added.
The report concurred with DeRozan's claims, stating, "Jackson (LAC) reaches in and makes contact to DeRozan's (CHI) left arm and affects his driving shot attempt."
"It just sucks that you wake up and read the Last Two Minute report and something else will be missed that possibly could’ve cost us the game," Deebo concluded.
Five-second violation
Interestingly, the report also stated that the Bulls got away with a five-second violation on an inbound play with 10.8 seconds remaining. Although the refs did not blow their whistle on that play, the Bulls weren't able to take advantage as Alex Caruso's pass went nowhere and was stolen by the Clippers.
The Bulls will have to forget this loss and hope they can turn things around in the clutch going forward.
