CHICAGO – If he keeps this up, the “MVP” chants that keep appearing here and there at Bulls’ games are only going to grow as time goes along.
That’s because DeMar DeRozan made some more Bulls and NBA history with his performance over 48 minutes at the United Center.
The All-Star guard went for 40 points on 16-of-24 shooting in the Bulls’ 120-109 victory over the Spurs on Monday evening. That included 19 fourth quarter points that helped his team shake off a third quarter deficit to outscore San Antonio 37-20 in the final 12 minutes.
It’s the fourth-straight win for the Bulls and it came as Zach LaVine continues to sit out with knee soreness that will require a trip to a specialist in Los Angeles to examine. The guard is expected to miss the Bulls’ next game against the Kings at the United Center Wednesday with his status for All-Star Weekend in Cleveland still unknown.
At the moment, however, the focus is on DeRozan, who is enjoying a renaissance season in his 14th year in the NBA. He’s scored at least 35 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor in the last five games, which is the first time that any Bulls player has done so while becoming only the second player in NBA history to do so.
For the season, DeRozan is averaging 27.9 points per game with 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per contest. Because of his recent streak, the guard was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week for a third time this season before the game.
If he keeps this up, those “MVP” chants will grow even more as this special season continues.