(670 The Score) Bulls star DeMar DeRozan lived up to his word – and then some.
After promising there was "no way in hell" he'd have another ugly 6-of-25 type of performance like he did in a Game 1 loss, DeRozan scored a playoff career-high 41 points to lead the Bulls to a 114-110 road win against the defending champion Bucks in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. With the victory, the Bulls evened the Eastern Conference first-round series at 1-1 ahead of Game 3 on Friday at what promises to be a raucous United Center.
The formula for DeRozan to respond was the same as ever. He stayed confident and to script. He got extra shots up, swinging by Fiserv Forum on Tuesday night for a shooting session. He liked the looks he got in Game 1 and then navigated to similar areas Wednesday, and his work was rewarded as he shot 16-of-31 and became the first Bulls player since Derick Rose in 2011 to score 40 or more points in a playoff win for Chicago.
"He's good," Bulls guard Alex Caruso deadpanned when asked about DeRozan's key to success.
DeRozan expanded a bit.
"I just got to my spots," DeRozan added. "It's just understanding that I'll never let a miss deter me from taking my next jump shot and not being aggressive. I just knew (a bad outing) wasn't going to happen (again)."
DeRozan was at his best against the best and in the biggest moments Wednesday. He scored 16 points and shot 8-of-9 when Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo – the 20202 NBA Defensive Player of the Year – was his primary defender, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That included DeRozan converting a strong, driving layup through Antetokounmpo and contact with 18.2 seconds left, a bucket that proved to be the dagger as it gave the Bulls a 114-109 lead.
"He's capable of doing that every night," Bulls center Nikola Vucevic said of DeRozan. "He's a helluva player. He's a helluva scorer.
He plays with such poise. He missed some shots in Game 1 that he's usually good at making. Tonight, he just stayed aggressive. Obviously, he made some very tough ones, especially down the stretch, some big, big shots. Especially that big play at the end to put us up five – finishing over Giannis just shows the belief in his game and that he has in himself and the confidence he has. We've seen him doing it all season long … He might not go for 41 every night, but he has the capability of making big shots every night."
DeRozan ended the third quarter by blocking Antetokounmpo at the buzzer to preserve the Bulls' seven-point lead, then stripped him on the first possession of the fourth quarter. DeRozan followed that by assisting a 3-pointer by Vucevic, then hit a pair of jumpers to push the Bulls' lead to 14 in a game-turning sequence after the Bucks had trimmed their deficit to three late in the third quarter.
"I'm hopeful it's some growth from our guys," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of his team responding after the Bucks made a run. "I think guys like Vooch and DeMar and Zach (LaVine) and these veteran guys, they've played a lot of basketball and they know that in the league, there's going to be these swings. I think those guys' poise, their leadership and their communication was really good. That was talk – we got to move to the next play, the next situation. Maybe there was some growth in our team."
There certainly was, as the Bulls look nothing like the team that closed the regular season by losing 10 of their last 15 games and which had little to no interest in sustaining defensive intensity. With a newfound tenacity and a defense that has hardened, the Bulls look like a team ready to push the Bucks for every minute of what could become a long, drawn-out series.
"We had a long season," Caruso said. "We had a lot of adversity. There was almost a little bit of like, we were just trying to start the playoffs already. We were kind of in a hole. But we got our spirit back. We talked to each other about the opportunity we had in front of us."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
