DeMar DeRozan hopes a win against the Miami Heat will spark the team this season

With 68 more games remaining on their slate, the Chicago Bulls are hoping their 102-97 win over the Miami Heat last Saturday night would give them the extra boost they need to make a push for the playoffs.

At 5-9, the Bulls have obviously struggled to get off the gates and were on their way to taking another loss as they fell behind, 22-1, to the Heat in the first six minutes of the game. However, the Bulls showed some resolve as they rallied and notched the victory, thanks to the superb performance of DeMar DeRozan, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth, including the go-ahead fadeaway jumper.

All it takes is one

The NBA landscape can change very quickly, and one win can sometimes give teams the confidence they need to go on a run. This is what the Bulls are hoping for as they look to build some momentum off their victory over Miami.

“All it does is take one, honestly,” DeRozan, who added four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two three-pointers, said.

Tied at 97-all with the seconds ticking away, Deebo knew he had to make his move. With Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. playing solid defense and Jimmy Butler lurking to his left, DeRozan waited to see if Butler would come off his man, Zach LaVine, and offer some help. But with Butler electing to stay home and not give LaVine an open look, DeRozan knew it was up to him to make the shot.

“I was trying to bait Jimmy into coming, but I knew he wasn’t going to leave off Zach,” DeRozan said.

“So I was just taking my time getting my footwork so I could explode and get the shot over. I knew it was going to be a tough contest. Just me trying to get my balance after I turned into the shot. Felt good to see it go, get the crowd reaction and especially how we started and then to go back down court and get stops and close out the game from there.”

Good defense, better offense. https://t.co/zEzFt1gCKh pic.twitter.com/k9AC3qI4jQ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 19, 2023

Feed off the win

The Bulls will face off against the very same Heat squad on Monday night, and DeRozan is hoping they can avoid committing the same mistakes that put them in a deep hole early in the game.

“One game at a time. This feeling we have now, you’ve got to want it even more, and it’s going be tough Monday night playing against the same team again. We understood how we put ourselves in the hole and not to do that again and feed off a game like today,” DeRozan said.

DEMAR DEROZAN FOR THE LEAD IN THE FINAL MINUTE.@NBCSChicago | @DeMar_DeRozan pic.twitter.com/095pPKh5Si
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 19, 2023

All it takes is one

Feed off the win

DeMar DeRozan harps on the Chicago Bulls' slow starts: "We just got to stop it"