In a Season Full of Losses, Tre Jones Remains a Win for the Chicago Bulls

At the line for the 10th time, Nick Richards missed a big one. Knocking down the free throw would have given Chicago a 106-103 lead with just over 4.0 seconds to go. The worst that could happen – sans a ridiculously ill-advised four-point play – was extra time in the desert.

Richards missed it. The ball hit off the back of the rim, and a scramble ensued. The Suns' Ryan Dunn and Isaac Okoro met in the air for the rebound, forcing the ball to soar toward the baseline. Dunn dove to save it but didn't see a teammate around, chucking it toward Tre Jones.

As the Bulls' guard tried to corral the ball, he was teetering out of bounds. Rather than toss it further into play or risk leaving time on the clock by taking the ball over the line, he sent it sky high into the air.

Tre Jones secures the W!@Tre3Jones | @CHSN_ pic.twitter.com/zko4R0oqZO
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 6, 2026

The heads-up decision forced the clock to expire before the Suns could get off a game-tying attempt. It sealed a shocking 105-103 victory for the Bulls, marking only their second win since the last week of January.

“We really got hurt on the glass in the second half, so it’s amazing an offensive rebound won it for us. But the smartest thing by Tre, was ‘I’m about to fall out of bounds, so I’m just going to throw this thing up in the air.’ He’s got that. Just that awareness factor of how to impact winning and the little things. It’s just an incredible, heady smart play to throw it up like that,” Donovan said after the game (h/t CHGO).

From a lottery odds perspective, the win surely felt counterintuitive. From a purely basketball perspective, however, it was undoubtedly a commendable effort. The Bulls came into the evening with one of their longest injury reports of the season, and that's saying something. Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith, Anfernee Simons, and Jaden Ivey were all sidelined. This left Jones as the experienced adult in the room. And he sure looked the part.

Tre Jones of the Chicago Bulls — Mar 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones (30) attempts a layup against the Phoenix Suns in the second quarter at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

The guard finished the evening with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in his nearly 29 minutes of action. He also shot 9-15 from the field, which included an 8-11 showing inside the paint. The Bulls had success all night long attacking a Suns defense missing its primary rim protector, and a big reason for that was Jones' aggressive downhill mindset.

All season long, Jones has done an excellent job reading the room and providing precisely what his team needs. This performance was yet another example of that, particularly in those final seconds. Having the awareness to throw that ball in the air and let the buzzer sound isn't normal, but that's exactly what makes Jones so special.

“Just knowing that there is only 4 seconds left and it just got touched," Jones explained. "By that point, there was probably only about a second left, so I kind of just threw it up in the air …I’ve never really been In that position before. But my thought is, if I try to save it, it’s going toward their hoop. So if I threw it up in the air, time runs off and at worst it goes out of bounds. Thinking about it now that’s a lot of to think about, but watching games, you kind of think about those things. What if I’m in this position at some point?”

The Bulls may be in a complicated place, but there is a reason Jones survived the 2026 trade deadline purge. Since coming over in the Zach LaVine trade, he has played the best basketball of his career. He has proven to be an excellent backup to have for the equally savvy Josh Giddey, averaging 12.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 53.9 percent shooting. Especially when we consider he is only making $8.0 million a year on his new three-year deal, Jones is the kind of valuable contributor who is impossible to ignore. Will the losses continue to stack up for this Bulls team? It's likely, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Jones should be viewed as nothing other than a win.

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