Bulls get needed bench boost and beat Cavs in 2OT
Sometimes the most obvious solutions pan out.
With injuries piling up and Bulls starters logging long minutes, it made no sense why younger players like Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry weren't playing bigger roles. Phillips didn't play at all in Tuesday's loss to Detroit.
Against Cleveland on Wednesday, Phillips and newcomer Onuralp Bitim played significant minutes off the bench and the Bulls had enough energy for a fourth-quarter comeback. Against all odds, the Bulls beat a full-strength Cavaliers squad 132-123 in double overtime at the United Center, snapping a seven-game losing streak against Cleveland.
DeMar DeRozan (35 points) scored the first 5 points of the second overtime, then Andre Drummond followed with a tip dunk and the Bulls never looked back. The Cavs didn't score until Max Strus hit a 3-pointer at the 1:05 mark.
DeRozan missed a 19-footer at the end of regulation, then hit 3 free throws to tie the score with 12.3 seconds left in the first overtime before Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell missed a jumper at the buzzer.
The Bulls used the twin centers lineup to great success, piling up a stunning 74-39 rebound advantage, the team’s first time above 70 rebounds since 1975. Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Drummond had 17 points and 26 rebounds.
Bitim, who turns 25 in March, collected his first NBA points when he drained a 3-pointer at the 3:24 mark of the second quarter and finished with 10 points. Coach Billy Donovan showed some faith by playing Bitim throughout the overtimes.
Phillips had 7 points in 14 minutes. Those players had the best plus-minus numbers of any Bulls bench player.
The Bulls are hoping Bitim can turn into something resembling the player they let get away, Strus. The Hickory Hills native was a Bulls two-way player in 2019-20, but after tearing his ACL that year, Arturas Karnisovas didn't make him a priority and Strus became a valuable player for Miami and now Cleveland.
Strus scored 11 points in this game, relatively quiet compared to Tuesday, when he hit five 3-pointers in the final 3:42 against Dallas, including the game-winner from beyond midcourt. It's believed to be second-longest game-winning shot at the buzzer in NBA history.
The Bulls made a different kind of history Tuesday while losing to Detroit. They went 2 for 29 from 3-point range, the worst percentage ever for a team with at least 29 attempts.
The Bulls (28-31) were more short-handed than usual Wednesday. Alex Caruso didn't play after suffering a right hamstring strain in Tuesday's game. Donovan had no estimates of a timeline for Caruso's return. Torrey Craig is still out with a knee sprain, while Patrick Williams and Zach LaVine are out for the season.
DeRozan, 34, leads the NBA in minutes per game at 37.7 and played 48-plus Wednesday. DeRozan and White are 1-2 in total minutes played. By playing 50 minutes against the Cavs, White set a career high in minutes played with still 23 games left in the regular season.
White's been getting more defensive attention and taken plenty of hits. Now that he's gone 4 for 27 from 3-point range in the last three games, it's natural to wonder if he's worn down from the heavy workload.
“I always say, it's a challenge,” White said. “I'm going to take it head on it and grow from it. I can't do as much as I want to, working out-wise, because of the minutes and spending more time with recovery. It's been a challenge, it's been an adjustment, but I just want to keep getting better and keep learning as much as I can.”
Before the game Donovan talked about what young players face when they're trying to survive the rigors of an NBA season. Especially someone like White who is used to spending long hours in the gym.
“We've talked to him a lot about it,” Donovan said. “Like, 'Listen, coming in the gym and driving yourself into the ground is not always the solution or the answer.'
“But I would rather have a guy like Coby that's willing to put the work in, rather than a guy you're like, 'Come on, let's watch more film; let's get in the gym.' He's never, ever shied away from work.”
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