Vintage DeRozan leads Bulls to surprising opening night win at Miami
Now that every team is sponsored by a sportsbook, it's OK to admit the Bulls winning their season opener in Miami as 7.5-point underdogs was an upset.
Without Zach LaVine or Lonzo Ball, the Bulls pulled off a surprising 116-108 victory in Miami using a mix of old, new and improved.
The old familiar formula was peak DeMar DeRozan, who produced 37 points and 9 assists while shooting an efficient 14 of 22 from the field.
The new was a combined 21 points from veteran additions Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond. And the improved was Ayo Dosunmu, who opened his second professional season with a steadying 17 points.
DeRozan scored 19 of his points in the third quarter when the Bulls pulled out to a double-digit lead, which felt like a flashback to his record-setting streak of efficient 35-point nights last year.
The only other Bulls player to hit 30-5-5 in a season opener is Michael Jordan. DeRozan looked a little like Jordan on a soaring fast-break dunk in the third quarter.
"I think the amount of time he spent with Kobe Bryant and past great ones; what he does in the summer and the grind he puts himself through prepares him for these situations," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. "He's still got pop and I think a lot of that is how he takes care of himself."
Miami jumped to a 9-point lead in the first quarter, but also shared some useful information. Center Bam Adebayo and DeRozan's former Toronto teammate Kyle Lowry looked nothing like their old selves. Lowry is probably slowing down at 36, but it's tougher to explain Adebayo's 5-for-15 shooting.
The Heat got nice performances from Jimmy Butler (24 points), Sixth Man Award winner turned starter Tyler Herro (23) and Stagg High School grad Max Strus (22), but needed more players to show up.
Even while Miami built an early lead, the Bulls were doing things they needed to, like pushing the pace and moving the ball. For a while, it just seemed like they wouldn't have enough firepower to stay with a team that finished first in the Eastern Conference last year. The Bulls went 0-4 against the Heat and were blown out twice in Miami last season.
After missing their first six 3-point attempts Wednesday, the Bulls settled down and hit 10 before halftime. Dragic went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half, while Dosunmu was 3-for-4. Coby White didn't shoot great, but did contribute 10 points.
"I thought Goran's shot-making in that second quarter really settled us," Donovan said. "We could not make a shot. I give our guys credit for staying with it and just the encouragement on the bench where guys are saying, 'If you're open, shoot it.'
"I think once Goran made a couple of 3s, it kind of settled us. That period certainly calmed us a little because we hadn't shot it well."
From the 7:47 mark of the second quarter, when the Heat took a 46-37 lead, the Bulls dominated. Over the next 13 minutes, the Bulls outscored Miami 44-22.
There was a dry spell early in the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer by Nikola Vucevic (15 points, 17 rebounds) made it 107-98 with 4:57 left. DeRozan added a 3-pointer to make it 112-101 and put the game out of reach.
The Bulls announced early in the day LaVine would sit out due to injury management with his left knee. Ball is expected to be out a couple months as he recovers from a second arthroscopic surgery this year on his left knee.
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