NBA: DeMar DeRozan extends scoring record as Bulls top Hawks

DeMar DeRozan converted the go-ahead 3-point play with 15.1 seconds remaining as part of a 37-point scoring effort to give the Chicago Bulls a 112-108 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.

DeRozan was 15 of 21 from the field to extend his NBA record of scoring at least 35 points and shooting 50 percent or better to eight consecutive games. 

He also scored at least 30 points for the ninth straight game to move within two of the franchise mark set by Michael Jordan during the 1986-87 season.

Zach LaVine scored 20 points as Chicago won its sixth straight game and moved a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat atop the Eastern Conference. Nikola Vucevic added 12 points and 10 rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu also scored 12 points and Tristan Thompson added 11 points.

Bogdan Bogdanovich scored a season-best 27 points and Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 26 points and equaled his season best of nine rebounds for Atlanta. Trae Young had 14 points and 10 assists and Clint Capela added 14 points and 17 rebounds as the Hawks had a two-game winning streak snapped.

DeRozan knocked down a jumper to pull Chicago within one with 46.9 seconds before converting the go-ahead three-point play.

Bogdanovic missed the possible go-ahead 3-pointer and Javonte Green added two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to give the Bulls a four-point edge.

Chicago made 48.8 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 8 of 27 from 3-point range.

The Hawks shot 42.3 percent and were 8 of 28 from behind the arc.

Atlanta's John Collins (foot) sat out his fourth straight game, while teammate De'Andre Hunter (two points in 13 minutes) missed the second half with an illness.

Dosunmu made consecutive baskets and Coby White followed with a hoop to cap a 14-4 burst that saw Chicago take a 102-94 lead with 5:51 left.

A short time later, Atlanta rolled off nine straight points to take a 105-104 lead. Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer and Gallinari scored the next six.

DeRozan split two free throws with 2:31 left to knot the score. But Capela scored on a dunk 16 seconds later and Gallinari split two free throws with 1:59 remaining to give the Hawks a 108-105 lead.

Bogdanovic and Huerter knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give Atlanta its first lead of the game at 67-65 with 6:30 left in the third quarter.

Bogdanovic drained his third 3-pointer of the quarter with 1.8 seconds left to knot the score at 82.

DeRozan had 16 first-quarter points and 22 in the half as Chicago led 52-50 at the break.

-reuters

NBA: Joel Embiid outduels DeMar DeRozan as 76ers beat Bulls

Joel Embiid had 40 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Chicago Bulls 119-108 on Sunday.

It was the seventh game that Embiid scored at least 40 points this season.

Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Tyrese Maxey added 16 and Seth Curry contributed 12 for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 45 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and Javonte Green had 17.

The Bulls played without several key injured players -- Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and Coby White.

The Sixers have won all three meetings against the Bulls thus far this season.

The Sixers bolted to a 51-36 lead after Embiid dropped in two free throws with 5:19 left in the second quarter.

DeRozan completed a three-point play with 1:49 remaining as the Bulls closed within 53-46.

Embiid hit a late 3-pointer, finishing the half with 22 points, and the Sixers led 61-52 at halftime. DeRozan kept the Bulls close with 26 on 10-of-15 shooting.

After the Bulls closed within five early in the third, Curry and Maxey each connected on a trey and the Sixers went ahead 67-56.

The Bulls cut the deficit to 81-75 with 4:23 to go in the third after a 3-pointer by Vucevic. Philadelphia led 89-81 at the end of the third.

Furkan Korkmaz hit a jumper, Danny Green followed with a trey and Harris scored on back-to-back trips to open the fourth as the Sixers took a 98-81 lead.

Matt Thomas came back with a 20-foot jumper for the Bulls to end a 9-0 run. The Bulls eventually countered with a 13-0 stretch of their own to get within 98-94 with 8:06 remaining after another jumper by DeRozan.

Embiid threw down a dunk with 6:03 left and Philadelphia held a 109-100 advantage.

Harris essentially sealed the win when he drove to the basket and scored for a 116-106 lead with 2:01 to go.

-reuters

NBA: Robert Williams III free throws lift Celtics over Bulls

Robert Williams III scored six of his team's final 10 points, including the game-winning free throws with 9.7 seconds remaining as the host Boston Celtics rallied past the shorthanded Chicago Bulls for a 114-112 win on Saturday night.

Chicago went up 108-101 with just over four minutes to play before Boston used an 11-4 run to tie it at 112 after a pair of Williams free throws with 31 seconds to play.

DeMar DeRozan missed a stepback jumper with 9.7 seconds left and Nikola Vucevic committed a loose ball foul on the rebound. Williams made two more free throws to make it 114-112 and Vucevic missed a 3-pointer and DeRozan misfired on an 11-footer to end the game.

Jayson Tatum had a team-high 23 points and 12 rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 19 points to lead the Celtics. Dennis Schroder added 16 points with eight assists, Al Horford had 15 with eight rebounds and Williams totaled 14 points, 13 boards and six assists.

Boston bounced back from a 111-99 loss at Philadelphia on Friday with its sixth win in nine games.

Vucevic had a game-high 27 points, DeRozan had 23 with eight rebounds and seven assists as Ayo Dosunmu added career-highs of 21 points and 10 assists for the Bulls.

Coby White added 19 points for Chicago, which suffered its third straight defeat and fourth in its last five games.

Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine missed the game after suffering a left knee injury in Friday's loss to the Golden State Warriors. An MRI exam on Saturday reportedly revealed no structural damage to LaVine's knee.

Chicago guard Lonzo Ball was a game-time scratch with left knee soreness. The Bulls were also without Alex Caruso (foot), Derrick Jones (bone bruise in right knee), Javonte Green (right adductor strain), Tyler Cook (ankle) and Patrick Williams (wrist).

Celtics guard Marcus Smart missed his third straight game after entering the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocol prior to Friday's loss at Philadelphia.

Boston led 54-49 at halftime after being up as many as 12 points early in the second quarter.

-reuters

Harden’s return powers Rockets

Lebron, Rondo keep Lakers on stream

CHICAGO – James Harden scored 25 points, including 11 in a decisive run in the third quarter, in his return to the Houston lineup and the Rockets defeated the Chicago Bulls 96-88 on Saturday night in the National Basketball Association.

Harden, who had missed three games with a strained left hamstring, scored 11 straight points in a 1:59 span of the third as the Rockets went on a 15-0 run.

Carmelo Anthony had 17 points and James Ennis added 15 as the Rockets won their second game in two nights after starting the season 1-5.


Chicago led 59-58 midway through the third quarter before the Rockets and Harden went ahead for good, outscoring the Bulls 21-7 in the period.

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 21 points, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jabari Parker added 15 points as the Bulls lost their fourth straight game – going 0-4 in the homestand – and dropped their fifth straight to the Rockets.

In Portland,  LeBron James had 28 points and seven assists and Los Angeles topped Portland, 114-110.

Rajon Rondo gave the Lakers a huge lift off the bench, finishing with 17 points and 10 assists in 25 minutes.

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 30 points for Portland.

Portland shot a 6 for 35 (17 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Lakers had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 overall, but they survived their mistakes.

In Indianapolis, Victor Oladipo connected on a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining to lift Indiana past Boston, 102-101.

Oladipo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Tyreke Evans added 17 points for the Pacers, who shot 41 percent (36 for 87).

Marcus Morris had a team-high 23 points and six rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 43 percent (38 for 88) and had their four-game winning streak snapped.

In Philadelphia,  Joel Embiid scored 32 of his 39 points in a dominating first half and had 17 rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Detriot 109-99.

Embiid made 10 of 18 field goals and 18 of 23 free throws to help Philadelphia improve to 6-0 at home.

Elsewhere, it was Hornets 126, Cavaliers 94; Hawks 123, Heat 118; Spurs 109, Pelicans 95; Nuggets 103, Jazz 88.                                                               

source: philstar.com

Dwyane Wade fined $25,000 for throat-slash gesture

Chicago guard Dwyane Wade apologized Friday for making a throat-slashing gesture after hitting a game-clinching basket, but that didn’t prevent the NBA from fining him $25,000.

Wade made the gesture with his right hand after sinking a three-pointer with 26.3 seconds remaining in the Bulls’ season-opening win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

“I wanna apologize to my young fans on my gesture at the end of last nights game,” Wade wrote on Twitter. “I was caught up in the emotions of my first game at home.”

Wade scored 22 points with six rebounds and five assists in his debut with the Bulls, who beat the Celtics 105-99.

“To be able to make a shot like that and help us get this win, it’s like the perfect storm,” Wade said after the game.

“When I released it, I’m not going to say I knew it was going in, because anything could happen, but I felt very good about the shot, and there was just a lot of emotion running through me. I had an out-of-body experience after that.”

Despite his contrition the episode was a costly one, with NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe announcing that Wade “has been fined $25,000 for making an inappropriate gesture”.

That matched the $25,000 that Kevin Durant was docked in April 2013 for a throat-slash gesture when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Wade, 34, inked a two-year deal worth some $47 million with the Bulls in an off-season move that stunned the Miami Heat, who thought they would hang onto their free agent star.

The move brings him back to his hometown of Chicago, and he has spoken about wanting to combat violence in the city.

Wade played 13 seasons in Miami, scoring more than 20,000 points and earning 12 all-star team selections.

source: interaksyon.com