Doug McDermott and Derrick Rose lead Bulls to comeback win over Raptors
CHICAGO -- For 24 minutes on Friday night the Chicago Bulls looked ready to cave to another opponent and extend their longest losing streak since 2009. But a stunning third-quarter turnaround fueled by Derrick Rose and Doug McDermott salvaged a 116-106 win over the surging Raptors.
The Bulls, losers of five in a row and 14 of 19, desperately needed a win to save their crumbling season and keep their playoffs aspirations intact. As it stands, the Bulls (28-26) are currently tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 7 seed. Rose poured in 10 of his 26 in the third while McDermott, who spoke with coach Fred Hoiberg earlier on Friday in hopes of rebuilding his confidence, knocked down three jumpers en route to a career-high 30 points.
“He just looked to me like he had lost a little bit of confidence,” Hoiberg said. “He’s such a good player, such a good shooter. I know his teammates trust him. I told him every time he shoots the ball I think it’s going in.”
That’s what it felt like throughout the fourth quarter when McDermott erupted for 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting. The former Creighton star buried pull-up jumpers, knocked down several quick-trigger threes, and he even made one sharp baseline cut that ended with a rare two-handed flush. He finished with 20 in the second half alone, two more than his previous career-high.
“I feel like it was a long time coming,” McDermott said, before squashing any comparisons to his Creighton days. “The Raptors are pretty freakin’ good.”
And as for Hoiberg’s pre-game talk with McDermott, the second-year small forward said it played a big part in his career-night.
“I feel like it was very needed,” McDermott said. “He can relate to me in some ways because of similar games. We’ll have to check if he had a 30-point game. I don't think he did.”
Friday easily marked McDermott's best game as a pro. Under Tom Thibodeau, McDermott struggled to crack the regular rotation because of his defensive shortcomings. And while his defense is undoubtedly still a work in progress, Hoiberg has embraced McDermott's ability to spread the floor and shoot without hesistation. McDermott admitted that confidence was an issue, but he finally lived up to his No. 11 selection in the 2014 draft, if only for a night.
The Raptors, who'd won 14 of 16, got 27 points from All-Star Kyle Lowry, and Jonas Valanciunas destroyed the Bulls in the paint, finishing with 25 points on 9 of 14 from the field. But the Bulls ultimately won their eighth consecutive game over Toronto, one of the few teams Chicago could justifiably feel confident against should they meet in the postseason.
Injuries to Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah have all affected Hoiberg’s rotations, but there would be no excuse for a team that billed itself as a championship caliber roster to miss the playoffs.
“It’s not like we’re just going to give up,” veteran Taj Gibson said. “We really truly believe that we have enough to win. … It’s always good to play with desperation, especially when your back is against the wall. Your bandwagon’s empty, you got nobody else but ourselves. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”
At least for one night, there was nothing to feel sorry about.