3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 118-117 road win against the New York Knicks

The Bulls beat the Knicks 118-117 in a hard-fought battle last night. DeMar DeRozan hit the game-winning shot when the Bulls trailed 117-116 with six seconds to play.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 33 points, DeRozan finished with 25 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic had a monster game with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

DEMAR DEROZAN PUTS THE BULLS AHEAD WITH 0.4 SECONDS TO PLAY pic.twitter.com/G7HaX2V35A
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The Bulls played for each other

“I know the group of guys we have here. Guys really want to win and really care for each other and want to do the right thing,” Nikola Vucevic said after the Bulls beat the Hawks 110-108 on Wednesday. “Obviously, we’re not out of it yet. But it’s a good start. We’ve always had the belief we have what it takes to be a good team.”

The Bulls have shown they can be very good at times. They shared the ball, helped defensively, and as head coach Billy Donovan always says, put their bodies into plays. The Bulls have a 6-1 record against the Bucks, Celtics, Nets, and Heat, and they are now 4-2 when LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic each score 20 or more points, which happened in the victories in Miami, Atlanta, and New York.

LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic carried the Bulls

LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic showed up against the Knicks. The Bulls can beat any team in the league when their Big Three has a big game on the offensive end.

Chicago hasn’t gotten a consistent scoring output from them. However, the Big Three carried the Bulls on Friday, led by 33 points and 4 rebounds on 12-of-22 shooting and 4-of-9 from three-point range from LaVine. DeRozan had 25 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds, and Vucevic added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Everyone knows the Bulls will go as far as LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic take them. That’s why the rest of the roster encouraged them to take their game to the next level and right the ship.

“That’s been a conversation of late,” DeRozan shared on December 7th. “Our teammates have been encouraging us to do that; they’ve kind of been on us, just telling us it’s on us three to carry this thing, and they’re going to be behind us. Tonight we tried to be assertive and prove that point, and we played well.”

The Bulls contained Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson destroyed the Bulls in the December 14 and December 16 meetings at the United Center. Brunson had 30 points (11-of-21 from the field), 7 assists, and 2 rebounds in the 128-120 overtime win on December 14th. He scored 7 points in overtime, including a huge three-pointer with under 30 seconds to play.

Then, he also shined in the 114-91 win on December 16th, scoring 22 points with 6 assists on 7-of-13 shooting and 6-of-9 from three-point range. He also had 3 steals and 2 rebounds.

The Bulls made Brunson work for every shot he got off, and he had a rough night, going 5-of-15 from the field for 12 points. He found ways to contribute, dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds, but the Bulls did a great job against him.