DeMar DeRozan Delivers In Fourth Quarter Once Again
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan celebrated his return to the court with a season-high matching performance against the Lakers.
DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points in Chicago’s 115 – 110 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday. It was his first action since Dec. 4 after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
It was the Bulls’ first game in over a week after two postponed games following a Covid-19 outbreak in the team.
“I felt free as a bird,” DeRozan said. “Just getting out there, being with those guys, being in front of the fans. Just getting out the basement I was in for 10 days.”
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As has been the case so often in his career, DeMar DeRozan came to life in the fourth quarter. 19 of his 38 points came in the last quarter against the Lakers.
The Bulls couldn’t have asked for a better man to seal the game at the death. DeRozan is averaging 8.2 points in the fourth quarter this season – more than any other player.
As well as that, he’s shooting 53.8% from the field, 45.5% from 3 and 92.2% from the free throw line. No other player has averaged 8 fourth-quarter points while shooting 50% from the field and 90% from the line in the past 25 seasons.
“When the ball is in his hands, there’s just a calmness to him,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He doesn’t get rattled. He’s been in so many of these moments throughout his life and his career. I think things slowed down for him. He knows exactly what he has to get done, what needs to get done and he finds ways to just stay totally locked in. It’s really an incredible gift that he has.”
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“The fact that he utilizes the midrange, a lot of people want to kind of discredit that part of the game, but I think that’s a lost art,” Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony said. “DeMar is one of the guys who’s mastered that. And at the end of the game, when you gotta slow down and you gotta run something, 3s are not falling, you gotta be able to get to that. He mastered that. He mastered his spots on the court. I think that’s why he’s very efficient, especially this season, in the fourth quarter, specifically down the stretch.”
