The second quarter had already started to betray the Chicago Bulls because of a sloppy start against Atlanta on Wednesday.
An Andre Drummond offensive foul wiped out Chicago’s first offensive possession. A Jevon Carter shooting foul at the other end gave Hawks guard Dejounte Murray a three-point play. A missed Coby White midrange jumper turned into shoddy transition defense, allowing Hawks big man Bruno Fernando a free lane to the bucket and another three-point play on a foul by Bulls forward Javonte Green.
In those 47 seconds, the Bulls’ 18-point, first-quarter lead was slashed to 12.
And Alex Caruso rolled on the floor at half court in obvious discomfort.
Bulls reserve center Andre Drummond stepped on Caruso’s right foot as they transitioned to defense following White’s miss. Caruso got up limping. He tried walking it off before Bulls coach Billy Donovan saw enough and subbed him out.
Twenty-one seconds later, Hawks guard Garrison Matthews hit a 3. One minute later, Murray buried another. Chicago’s lead suddenly was down to four.
But with their postseason hopes riding on this must-win, Play-In Tournament game, the Bulls banded together again. They overcame more rotten injury luck to overpower the Hawks 131-116 inside the United Center.
The Bulls advance to play on the road against the Miami Heat on Friday. The winner snags the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and a first-round matchup against the top-seeded Boston Celtics.
“A team that’s battle-tested and has been in all sorts of moments,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of the Heat. “It’ll be a great challenge on the road. We all have an enormous amount of respect for them, and we know how good they are. So, again, you’ll have to play well there. They do a lot of things well.”
Coby White was the star Wednesday, scoring 42 points with nine rebounds and six assists against zero turnovers. The home crowd chanted White’s name in the second half in appreciation of his efforts. White scored 25 points in the second half, outplaying Hawks stars Trae Young and Murray. But he had plenty of help.
DeMar DeRozan scored 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter, setting the tone with early assertiveness as a scorer against a Hawks team without a line of capable defenders to faze him. He also dished five of his team-high nine assists in the opening period. And when the Hawks started sending additional attention his way, DeRozan routinely made the proper pass, allowing his teammates to become threats.
Nikola Vučević did much of his damage from inside against a thin Hawks frontline, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu returned from a four-game absence caused by a right quad contusion and played 41 minutes. He scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, making 3 of 4 3-pointers. He dished three assists and had two forceful blocked shots.
Javonte Green, who signed for the remainder of the season only two weeks ago, also proved to be a dependable rotation piece as expected. He came off the bench to score 10 points, all on hustle plays, and added six rebounds and four assists.
“Everybody played a total role in it,” White said.
Donovan used Green and Dalen Terry over Torrey Craig, essentially playing an eight-man rotation. Carter played only two minutes. Craig didn’t enter the game until the fourth quarter and played just seven minutes. The two make up the Bulls’ offseason free-agent acquisitions. Both are veteran players the Bulls hoped to depend on at this stage of the season more than ever.
Depending on Caruso’s status — and he said he expects to play — Donovan might be forced to go deeper into his bench Friday.
“I was kind of ineffective so it was probably better to have some of those guys finish the game,” Caruso said. “And they did a great job.”
(Photo of DeMar DeRozan: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
