BOSTON – Over the past year-and-a-half, one thing that the Bulls have been able to rely on is having DeMar DeRozan in their lineup.
But that wasn’t the case for a lot of the second half on Monday night against the Celtics at TD Garden after the five-time All-Star dealt with an injury in the 107-99 defeat.
DeRozan suffered a right quad strain in the middle of the third, falling to the ground in pain with 8:27 to go in the quarter while gripping his quad. He would try to play through it but eventually left the game for good at the 6:26 mark of the quarter.
At the moment, the injury is considered “day-to-day” and his availability for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards is unknown.
Before the injury, DeRozan was 6-of-9 from the field with 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 23 minutes.
Despite his absence, the Bulls were still able to battle the NBA leading-leading Celtics till the final minute, with Zach Lavine (27 points) and Nikola Vucevic (21 points) leading a late charge. The center’s hoops with 1:17 left got the Bulls within two, but they wouldn’t score again, with Al Hortford’s three-pointer with 25 seconds left putting the game away for Boston.
The Celtics and Bulls finish their regular season series tied 2-2.
DeRozan has been playing at an All-Star level for the Bulls in his second year in Chicago as he’s played in all 41 games this season. His 26.1 points lead the team as he’s also collected five rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest as well.
Currently, DeRozan is sixth in the voting for guards in the Eastern Conference for the All-Star Game. During the 2021-2022 season, the guard started that contest as he averaged 27.9 points a game in his first season in Chicago.